Something that we're not
by lexiepedia
Summary: Coming home after six months overseas only to find that your hot one night stand you from last night is your new neighbour is not the welcome home Charlie expected. What happens if he has already wormed his way into your family and your life and will do anything until you're his? But when secrets gets revieled will he get his wish?A Chax story.
1. Trailer

**Hi guys! Somehow my story Crazy and Stupid has disappeared from my page, can't find it anywhere it's gone I'm afraid. And with me just having bought a new computer cause my old one crashed, all the files and previous chapters are gone so I can't re-post it... :(**

**And I don't have the energy to try and rewrite it so instead I'm gonna start on one of the new ones I promised you! XX Lexie**

**New Story - Something that we're not**

Detective Charlie Holden has been overseas for the past 6 months and the night before she's expected home she stays in the city to go out with her friends. Out in the Club she meets a man named Brax that stirs her interest.  
>The next day Brax wakes up in his hotel-room alone and it bugs him that a woman treated him just the same as he used to treat them and he just can't forget about the gorgeous woman that intrigued him to no end.<p>

Charlie comes back to Summerbay in order to surprise her father and daughter but it's she who's in for a surprise. During the barbecue her family holds for her homecoming finds out that her father has gotten new neighbours and those neighbours are no other then the Braxton brothers...

The bay is hit with two-faced personalities, ghosts from the past and present enemies but also new found comfort-zones, love and heartache.


	2. Chapter 1 - Get what you want

Chapter one

Charlie's pov

Charlie was standing by a table with a drink in hand in one of her favourite nightclubs here in the city while watching her slightly drunk friends out on the dance-floor. She had a slight headache and wasn't really in the mood to be out partying after siting on a plane for eighteen hours, but she hadn't seen her friends here since she moved back to Summerbay after a few years as a cop in the city. So when she mentioned that her plane from Italy would be arriving here after she had been abroad for six months, they had immediately decided that she would be staying a night here with them before going home. So despite being tired she was actually enjoying it a bit.

Sam came strutting over in her high heels, swaying her hips to give the guy she left out on the dance-floor a good show with a satisfied smirk on her face. She plonked herself down in one of the high barstools around the table and grabbed Charlie's drink out of her hand.  
>"God I needed that, he was such a bore. Either he had his tongue stuck in my ear or he was nagging it of by talking about soccer-teams. Like I give a flying rats about soccer-teams while I'm trying to get laid. Seriously!"<p>

She couldn't contain her laughter, Sam always spoke her mind and her witty comebacks and trashtalks never failed to crack you up even on the worst of days at work. Her brutal honesty and trouble to keep her trot shut could also bring troubles and be slightly annoying, but she was the best partner she ever had. She didn't take anyones crap, gave as she got and she would never back down once she got something in her head, it could make even the toughest guys scared.  
>Sam cooked her eyebrow and looked at her suspiciously over the rim of her glass.<br>"What?! He was, no I have to find someone else to take home tonight. So how's your man-hunting going? Or are you to picky no that you have been spoiled with dashing men in suits at Wall-street and tanned, blue eyed Italians?"

Charlie just shook her head at her ex-partner and continued to look over the room that was so filled with people it was hard to tell what they looked like.  
>The girls had somehow gotten it into them that the six months she had spent traveling the world had been a sleep-with-a-man-in-every-country kinda trip. Sure there had been a few but hardly as many as they thought there had been. It really had been a trip for her to let go and clear her head.<br>She had been in every place she had ever wanted to visit, she had been in Thailand, Japan, the U.S, Italy, France, Greece... you name it and it had done her a lot of good. She could finally sleep through the night with out walking up covered in sweet after dreaming of Grant and that night over and over again, sure she hadn't forgotten about it but she thought of it less and she was finally able to start living again.

She was startled out of her thought by Sam letting out a wolf-whistle right next to her ear, causing a slight ringer in her ear.  
>"What the heck Sam?! Are you trying to make me deaf or something?"<br>"Pish,posh look at that will ya! That's what I call sex on a stick."

She followed her friends gaze that was focused at the doorway where five, fine looking guys was standing, looking out over the room. Sam was right, it was seriously sex on a stick material. One guy in particular caught her attention, he had brown hair, piercing grey eyes that drew her in, his face had sharp lines that defined him very well and a seriously sexy smile that could make every girl melt at his feet. She knew at once that he was a bad guy and that she should stay away from him so that she wouldn't be just another notch to his belt and increase his ego.  
>Just as she was about to look away his eyes locked with hers, making it impossible for her to look away. She just stood there leaning slightly against the table, her legs crossed making her dress ride up slightly on her thigh and a quite plain face she hoped. It was almost as she could feel his eyes roaming her body from top to toe and back up again to once more meet her eyes, the intense stare made her nervous so she quickly broke their gaze and focused on Taylor and Emily who were making their way towards them, hoping Sam hadn't noticed and wouldn't make a big deal out of it. But there was no such luck.<p>

"I think we've found your man tonight Charls. Let's give him something to dream about yeah." Sam tugged her out on the dance-floor by dragging her by the arm so hard she was afraid it was gonna pop out.  
>The guys had made their way over to the bar that were just a few feet away from were they where out on the dance-floor. The guy that her caught her eye was leaning on the bar facing the dance-floor, looking straight at her and it made her slightly self-conscious but after a minute she was totally focused on the music and her friends as they swayed their hips carefree. Every once in a while she would look over the bar and see the piercing grey eyes that was following her moves and hold their gaze for only a second before turning back to her friends.<p>

Brax's pov

He walked sighing into his club with the guys in tow, they were on their way out just as his phone rang with an emergency at work. The guys thought it was great, cause that meant that they could hang around the club while he went and took care of the problem. His club was one of the hottest clubs in town and was filled with ladies looking for a night of fun, but he had made himself a sort of rule not to go hunting in his own club, it only caused trouble, much to his friends despair.  
>He left his friends waiting in the line while he snuck through the crowded dance-floor to his office that he had placed on the other end of the club, which he cursed right now. As he made his way behind the tables that were surrounding the floor he spotted a absolutely stunning woman that he just couldn't take his eyes of. Her dark hair was thrown over one shoulder and feel down in lose curls and she wore a off white, silky dress that ended mid thigh, it hang loosely around her upper body but went skin tight around her arse.<p>

At that moment and time his rule about not hunting at his own club went out the window, he was going home with her tonight one way or another.  
>He hurried into his office and quickly finished what needed to be down before locking it up, stealing on last glance at his woman to make sure she was still there and then went out to the boys that was no first in line. As soon as they saw him coming towards them they sighed in frustration and got ready to head out again, they was sure as hell gonna kiss him when they heard his suggestion.<br>"You just couldn't drag your as for once, could ya?"  
>"We're staying here tonight" All the boys mouth dropped open and he couldn't help but laugh at their dumb expressions. "You heard me, or do you rather go somewhere else you're welcome to do so but I'm staying here."<p>

Mike took a step forward and waved a hand in front of his face as he wore a worried expression on his face. "Are you feeling alright Brax?"  
>"Yeah I'm fine mate, don't worry about it. Are you guys coming or what?" With that he turned around and walked back to entrance with the guys following closely behind. He watches the room looking for his woman yet again and when he finds her again she looks up and he his met by a pair of beautiful, blue eyes. Here from the top of the stairs he got a better view of her body then he did in the crowd, her legs were crossed and her dress was short which put her sexy, slender legs on display and it almost made him drool.<br>"I think we've found Brax's rule breaker."  
>"That's right. And she's mine so stay away or I'll break ya necks, now let's get a bear.<p>

He had barley sat down at the barstool when the barman brought them their bears, that's the upside of being the boss. Letting the cool the beverage slide down his throat he spun around on his chair so that he was looking out at the room while siping his bear. He let his eyes roam around the room lazily enjoying seeing his pride and joy in action, as they reach the dance-floor the sight he's met with makes his eyes pop out in shock. On the dance-floor he could see her dancing closely with her blonde friend, he got lost in her movements and she just drew him in more and increased his interest for her.

For the rest of the night he sat at the bar with his buddies, talking if one of them wasn't out on the dance floor with some girl. Every once in a while he would watch her intensely wiling her to look up at him and at the times that she did he could see the want in her eyes too. Just as he was about to walk over to her he was ambushed buy a bouncing blonde. Her blonde hair was long and straight framing her face and bringing out her blue eyes, normally this was the kind of girl he would leave with at the end of the night it tonight was going to be different.  
>He tried his hardest to make her leave him alone so he could walk over to the stunning brunette who was now walking of the dance floor, but the tipsy blonde wouldn't walk away. Instead she dragged him out on the dance floor and insisted that he should dance with her. She pressed herself close to him and started to whisper suggestions in his ear in a husky voice and for once in his life he only cringed at the words and got no excitement at all, his head was to occupied by thoughts of one girl. Never in his life had one girl got to him this much and it slightly irritated him, he needed to get this girl over to his place, fuck her to oblivion and then he would be free of her.<p>

As he finally manage to get away from the blonde he search frantically after he when he couldn't spot her over at the table with her friends, she couldn't have left could she. He walked over to the bar as he cursed the stupid blonde for ruining his chances to clear his head of this insanity.  
>He was sitting glumly at his chair drinking his bear with his back facing the floor, having given up hope, when he spotted her leaning over the bar further down. He jumped of his chair and walked so close to her that they were almost touching and he cold feel the heat radiating from her body. He leaned at the bar on his side so he was level with her face and when he leaned in he was met by the sent of her perfume and it almost drove him insane.<br>"So when are we leaving"  
>He was just a few feet away from her ear and he could see how she tried to hide the fact that she was startled and affected by his presence. She turned to face him with raised eyebrows and a small teasing smile, and once again he was struck by how utterly gorgeous she was.<p>

"What are you on about tough-guy?"  
>" I asked when we were leaving, cause you're going home with me tonight." She took the last remaining step it took for their chests to be pressed together, because of her high heels she only had to crane her neck a little bit to reach up to his ear and she took full advantage of that.<br>"Is that so ay?" Her voice was husky and it sent chills up his spine and made his jeans a bit to tight, god he wanted this woman. He nuzzled her ear and he could feel her tremble against him.  
>"Yeah, and I should tell you... I always get what I want."<br>"And what is it that you want, tough-guy."  
>"I want you on your back, in my bed, with those sexy legs of yours wrapped around me as I make you scream my name." She steadied herself by putting her hands on his chest and it felt good being this close to her.<br>"So what's your name stranger."  
>"Brax, and what's yours gorgeous?" She looked him straight in the eye, her blue ones glistering with mischief and he really wanted to find out.<br>"Charlie, so how about it Brax? Gonna buy me a drink or what?"

At that he couldn't help but let out a full hearted laugh, she was not a chicken that's for sure and defiantly not a push over. He was gonna have to work for it, cause he had a pretty strong feeling that she wouldn't just go with him because he was charming, she was smarter then that.  
>When he stopped laughing he took a step away from her and watch her with a smile has leaned back over the bar.<br>"Okay then, what are you having?"  
>"Beer, please!" She sent him a cheeky smile and then turned back to the bartender and flashed him a bright smile as he brought her beer over.<br>"A woman after my own heart, if you say that you surf to I'll marry ya."  
>"I might be able to catch a wave or two."<br>"So you're not from around here then?"  
>"I used to. I worked here a couple of years ago."<br>"So were have you been since then?"  
>"The last six months I've been out traveling so I've been in Thailand, Japan, the U.S, Europe... name it and I've been there."<br>"Wow, that most be some work!" She cleared her throat and played with her bottle as she smiled and nodded her head.

They stayed there for a while and talked about a lot of things and he found that she was actually fun to talk to as well, not just to look at. Three beers later she stood from her chair and grabbed a hold of his hand and tugged him out to the dance-floor. After a painful but yet satisfying time on the dance-floor with Charlie's as rubbing itself at his crotch, a lot of flirting being whispered in each others ears and she finally turned around and begged him to take her out of there.

He now had her pinned up against his bedroom wall, his shirt and her dress lay in a heap on the floor long forgotten, the only thing that mattered was the feel of the other's body pressed up against it's own, trying to reach your own satisfaction. Her hands traveled across his back, up his neck and into his hair, massaging his scalp as his hands groped her arse and held her neck in the right angle as their tongues fought with each other. He groaned as she broke free from their kiss and started planting butterfly kisses from his jaw-line down his neck, while her hands tried to unbuckle his pants. As soon as she had them done he kicked them off and got to work on her strapless bra, and the sight that met him literally took his breath away. He carried her from the wall and put her down on his bed, just were he wanted her, and climbed on top of her. He quickly got rid of their remaining clothes and thrust into her slick entrance with one quick stroke that got her to cry out in pleasure, and he felt a bit proud that he did that to her.  
>"Oh god- Braax!"He smirked down at her and leaned in so that their lips were barley touching. "Told ya I always get what I want, Beautiful."<p>

As they both came down from their high they collapsed in each other's embrace and they were soon asleep. Before his eyes closed he gathered her up in his arms and pulled her close to him so he could burry his face in her neck. Something inside him didn't want to let her go, she was beyond what he had expected. She was not just a pretty shell, there were something else there he couldn't just put his finger on, she had fire and what they just had done was beyond amazing.

**So guys, tell me what you think of the plot and the first chapter, is it something you want more of? Please review, it's fun to hear what you have to say.**  
><strong>Xxx Lexie<strong>


	3. Chapter 2 - Coming home

**Here´s a new chapter. Sorry for the wait but have had a lot to do lately and this was kind of last on my list. So I hope you´ll like it, the end might be bad cause I was really tired when I wrote it, trying to finish it so I could publish it. Anyhow, the language might be a bit different cause I´ve been studying to take my CC and it´s all in British English. **

**Well, read and let me know what you guys think!**

**XXx Lexie **

Chapter two

Brax's pov

Brax woke up the next morning, slightly hangover, after the best night's sleep he had had in a while. Last night had been amazing, Charlie had been amazing there was so much more to her then just a pretty face. She had a quick mouth and she could uphold some really interesting conversation. It had been the first time in really long that he actually considered seeing the girl after their first meet.

It had also been the first time he had fallen asleep while still being with the girl. Normally he would´ve kicked her out with lies and false hope, or he would´ve sneaked out after she had closed her eyes. But with Charlie there was something pulling him in, he found that he didn´t want to let her go so instead he had curled up behind her while nuzzling her neck and pulling her close.  
>Just thinking about it made him want to slap himself.<p>

He reached out in search for the smocking hot body that had kept him warm last night but was only met by cold sheets. His eyes flew open as he realised that Charlie was not there as he expected. He looked frantically around the room in search for her but the room had no trace of her whatsoever, his clothes were the only ones on the floor, hers were nowhere to be seen. He cursed and slumped back against the pillows, she had done a runner like he had done a thousand times. Normally he wouldn´t have cared, he would´ve just been glad that she would be gone, not that another woman had ever left him but if it had…

It actually pissed him off that she had just bailed on him, she had balls he´d give her that but women don´t leave him he leaves them. So her walking out on him kind of messed with his ego a little bit.  
>But why would he care? It was just sex, something he needed to and get out of his system. But why was it that he found himself not being able to stop thinking of last night, of her beneath him with her long legs wrapped around him as she withered in pleasure and moaned his name in a voice that made him hard just thinking about it.<p>

With a groan he grabbed the pillow next to him and threw it across the room and cursed out loud.  
>What bugged him the most was not that she was the one that left. It was finding himself caring about it, never had a woman stuck herself in his head like that.<p>

With a frustrated sigh and a mental slap he got out of bed and started to throw on some clothes. He had to get back home to the restaurant before Heath made to big a mess and left it all to Kyle to fix. Plus he his neighbour and best friends dad had this barbeque this afternoon he had to go to, hopefully it would be fun if Jack and Pete would show up which he was pretty sure that they would, if there was food anywhere they would be there.

As he reached for his shirt on the floor he spotted a piece of dark blue lace laying at the top of the bed where his pillow had been a few minutes ago. Picking it up he realised that it was Charlie´s underwear, he groaned at the thought of her walking out of here without it. But at least it was a reminder, besides the scratch marks on his back, that she truly had been there and wasn´t just a figure of his imagination.  
>So it was with a big grin on his face and the blue lace in his pocket that he drove off towards the club to check on things before driving home.<p>

Charlie´s pov

She drove home happier than she had been in a while, she was going to see her daughter and her family for the first time in months and last night with Brax had been utterly amazing, the chemistry between them was unbelievable and the result of it had been mind-blowing.

Her family had no idea that she was coming home today, even less so that she was only fifteen minutes away from Summerbay right now. She couldn´t wait to see the look on her daughter´s face when she showed up, and the fact to just be able to hold her. Despite the fact that it had been nice to get away and clear her head, she had really missed her family even her annoying older brothers that were suffocating her at times.

As the familiar scenery flashed by her thoughts travelled to Brax, the mysterious man she had met last night at the bar, the things he had said to her that made her knees go weak and the way he had only kissed her and it had still brought her to heaven.  
>She didn´t regret it but she knew his kind and she felt a whole lot better knowing she was the one that left him instead of him leaving her like she knew he would. She knew that he wouldn´t want to continue anything and that was fine with her, so she left without a word like nothing had happened.<p>

Driving past the town sign she continued on the familiar road that led to her father´s house and the anticipation grew bigger and bigger. She put a little more force on the accelerator and in no time at all she was parked outside the house and running up the driveway towards the door.  
>It was only nine in the morning but she figured her dad or Beth would be up at least, so she knocked hard on the door and waited impatiently, praying for someone to open it soon. Soon enough she heard footsteps and then a shadow appeared behind the closed glass-door. The door swung open and behind it was her father wearing slightly wet board-shorts and a towel in hand, indicating he had been out surfing. As soon as he saw her a big grin spread across his face and his eyes started to water slightly. He breathed in sharply and then let out a shaky breath trying to calm himself down.<p>

"You´re home." She only nodded because she could feel tears well up in her eyes as well and she didn´t trust himself to speak.  
>He took a tentative step towards her, as if her was afraid she would disappear if he moved to fast, and brought up a hand to her face and stroked her cheek gently.<br>"Hi dad!"  
>She smiled through her tears and that seemed to be all it took for her father to break, in quicker than a heartbeat she had her face pressed into the crook of his neck breathing in his familiar smell as his arms held her tight to his chest, like to make sure she wouldn´t be able to get away.<br>"I´ve missed you so much sweetie, you have no idea!"

"I´ve missed you too dad!"

They stood just like that for a while until Beth came into the room and squealed at the sight before her.  
>"Charlie!"<br>Her father let her go and she run over to Beth who was waiting for her with open arms. Charlie lost her mother when she was twelve in a bust that went wrong, her father then met Beth just before she turned fifteen around the time she had Ruby. One might think that a new "mother" at a time like that would be a no go but it was actually the exact opposite, Beth was kind and easy to talk to but most importantly she was an outsider which made her so much easier to talk and open up to then her father or brothers. Beth helped her through everything and convinced her that she would be a great mom despite everything. After that Charlie felt like her family was complete once more, Beth had become the glue in their family she never let them fight for too long go to long without speaking.

"It´s good to see you again, sweetheart!"

"You too, Beth!" She dried her tears with her hand and looked around the room to take everything in, it looked exactly the same. It was the same photos on the walls, same sofas and the same white wallpaper. The only difference was that the place was filled with girl stuff that hasn´t been in this house since Mattie lived here two years ago before she moved to Perth with Ric.  
>"Beth, where´s Ruby?"<p>

Beth smiled and nodded her head towards the hallway that led further into the house. "She still asleep, I don´t think she´s been up before then during the entire holiday."  
>A big smile spread across her face as she thought about her daughter and her traits, especially her sleeping habits.<br>"Sounds about right."  
>Not being able to wait any longer she walked fast down the hallway towards the door she knew would lead to her sleeping daughter, she had to stop herself from bursting through the door and waking up her daughter. Instead she opened the door quietly and snuck into the room to see her daughter laying sprawled out on her bed, her chest moving up and down indicating that she was breathing. She snuck up to the bed and lay down next to Ruby and started to stroke her hair.<p>

"Come on baby, it´s time to wake up." She stirred a little and then moved so she was facing the wall instead of Charlie.  
>"Go away mom, just a few more minutes." Suddenly she froze like she realised what she just said and shot up into a sitting position on the bed, eyes wide in shock.<p>

"Hi baby!"

"Mom!" It came out as a whimper and then she threw herself at her and buried her face in her neck. Charlie could feel her tears on her neck and her tiny body shock as she sobbed quietly. Ruby´s arms wound tighter around her neck as she stroke her back soothingly.

"It´s okay Rubes! I´m here, I´m fine and I´m not going anywhere okay."

"I´ve missed you mom! It sucked when you weren´t here, I was so worried are you okay? I mean… Are you feeling okay, after… I know it was my fault and everything I just wanted to help."

In shock Charlie moved out of their embrace and held Ruby at arm's length and stared her dead in the face. She had felt how her heart contract in her chest as she had heard the pain in Ruby´s voice and the blame was evident in her face.  
>"Hey, listen to me! That was not your fault do you hear me? What Grant did has nothing to do with you, he´s sick."<p>

"But I went to see him, if I hadn´t have done that he would´ve never come back to the bay to look for you. He might have been the one that attacked you but I brought him here." Tears streamed down her cheeks and Charlie couldn´t take it anymore, pulling Ruby into a bone crushing hug and stroking her back as she spoke in a soft voice.

"It doesn´t matter, you didn´t know and you just wanted to meet the man who were your father, despite what he had done, in hope that he had changed and wasn´t the same. He´s the one to blame. He was the one that attacked me seventeen years ago and came back to do it again, I pulled the trigger on the gun he has had pointed towards him for a long time, sweetie. And I´m fine, okay. Traveling the world really did some good but I missed you though, heck I even missed Jack and Pete after a while how messed up is that when you have something as beautiful as Paris before ya?"

"I already knew you were weird mom!" Ruby laughed and threw a pillow at her face but it was like she was frozen still, but her inside were doing summersaults. Ever since she had got here Ruby hadn´t stopped calling her mom, not once had she said Charlie instead. The last time she had called her mom was over a year ago.  
>"What´s wrong mom? You´re looking at me funny!"<p>

"Nothing, it´s just that… You haven´t stopped calling me mom since I got here and you haven´t done that in a while. Not that I don´t like it or anything! It´s just taken me by surprise, that´s all!"

Ruby looked sheepishly down at her hands that now lay in her lap like it suddenly was the most interesting thing in the world. "It´s just that with everything that happened, when we nearly lost you it made me realise how much you mean to me. It doesn´t matter what happened back then, I get it that you were scared and you have made up for it ever since. You´re my mom no matter what and I really don´t know what I would do if you didn´t come back to me."

With tears flowing from their eyes they embraced and fell down to the bed were they lay curled up together until Beth came in and told them that breakfast was ready. Walking into the kitchen she was met by a table full of everything you could possibly want, like a hotel except here the food was so much better both her dad and Beth were masters in the kitchen. There was enough food to feed the entire town.

"Hi dad? Why don´t we call Pete and Jack over so I can surprise them and then they can help us go through all this food? Cause I´m sure as hell aren't going to eat all that."

"Ehm Sweetie… we, me and Beth, were thinking that we maybe could hold on with telling Jack and Pete for a few hours… Cause we´re having a barbeque today so then you can surprise everyone at once. That way you can spend the entire day with Ruby first cause later on you won´t have any spare time." Charlie grinned at the idea, everyone in her family loved to surprise each other at homecomings and birthdays but her brothers took the price. They always had to make a show of everything, if they made a prank they would make it in front of the whole station and at her birthdays they always embarrassed her by making a sweet speech that made her cry in front of everyone. Now it was her turn to embarrass them. She grinned at her father and nodded eagerly which made her father stoke on laughter, that then made them all laugh. She was finally home.

For the rest of the day she didn´t leave that house. The four of them run around the kitchen preparing for this afternoon, mind she only got to chop things cause she was pretty much a disaster in the kitchen she couldn´t do much except for a few things, as she told them about her trip and everything she had gotten up to. The day was full of jokes, laughs and gibes.

Around two she was shooed into Ruby´s room to get ready while they finished up inside in case someone was early, they didn´t want to spoil the surprise. As she stood in front of her mirror getting dressed she wondered how everyone would react, Bianca and Martha would probably scream and then suffocate her with questions while Leah would be her calm self. Jack and Pete however was a different story, she had no idea how they would react. They were always the one that would surprise her not the other way around.

She could hear cars driving up to the house one by one and after every car the front door would open and the volume in the house increased. After twenty minutes of trying to listen to what everyone was saying through the door but failing miserably her father came and led her out the front door so she could sneak around the house to the back were everyone were. She walked around the house all jittery with excitement and it grew bigger as the voices got louder. Coming to a halt at the corner she carefully peeked around it and saw everyone she loved gathered in one place, she took a deep calming breath and plastered a smile on her face and walked out of her hiding spot, revealing herself.

Brax´s pov

"So mate, how was the night in the city?" He couldn´t contain his grin at the reminder of last night and his thoughts travelled to the scrap of lace that was still lying in his pocket. At his friend´s big grin Jack grinned just as wide and looked at him with expecting eyes.  
>"That good ay?"At that Brax only nodded and brought his beer to his lips, indicating that he wouldn´t give away anything. "Come on, tell me something at least!"<p>

"It was amazing. We fell asleep together and when I woke up she was gone, forgetting her lace behind." Jack´s jaw dropped to the floor and he looked at Brax like he was an alien.  
>"You feel asleep with the girl? And then she left you not the other way around? You, the man that goes through girls like another goes through his underwear?" Brax only chuckled and looked around the backyard and saw Casey sitting with his girl Ruby, Jack´s niece, that he had started to date almost immediately when they had moved here five months ago. Apparently her mom, Jack´s sister, was overseas and was expected to come home soon and for the last couple of weeks he hadn´t heard anything else from Jack then how much he missed his baby sister.<p>

"So, heard anything from your sister lately?"

"Nah, not for a couple of days. Last I heard she was driving around Italy eating olives and drinking wine."

"Come on boys, the game is on!"

The pair of them put down their beer and moved over to the others were Tony and Alf split them in to teams and then the soccer-game was in full run. The fun part was that everyone´s partner of some kind was on the opposite team which made it a deadly serious game.

"Well, well I leave and all hell breaks loose!" The game came to an erupt stop and everyone turned to the familiar voice even to him. When he turned around he was met by a sight he would´ve never expected to see this morning when he woke up alone. In front of him stood Charlie looking even more beautiful than she was last night in the flashing lights of the club. She was wearing a white summer dress with a blossom pattern that reached the ground and her hair was down in lose curls, her blues eyes sparkling in the sun. She had yet to notice him, her blue eyes only focused on Jack and Pete who was both standing still in shock trying to contain their emotions, but he thought himself spotting a tear falling from Jack´s eyes.

"Are you two just going to stand there all day or are you going to give me a hug?" She was wearing a cheeky grin but her eyes were just as glossy as the guys. Jack shock his head like he couldn't believe what he saw and then took three quick steps over to her and swept her into his arms, hugging her tight to him. They were whispering in low voices so he was not able to hear what they were saying but once they were done they just stood and held each other. As they finally let go she was swung up by another pair of arms and spun around in the air, making her giggle and laugh echoed through the backyard.

He could see how Martha, Bianca and Leah were all wearing identical smiles that reached their eyes as they were standing beside the happy siblings waiting for their turn.  
>When she had been passed around to everybody Jack grabbed her by the arm and dragged her over to where he stood. He could see the shock and the fear in her eyes and it amused him to no end.<br>"Charles meet my mate Brax, he and his brother is living next door. He´s Casey´s oldest brother. Brax, meet the youngest Holden, my sister Charlie. "

"Yeah, we´ve actually already met." Jack looked at him in surprise and Charlie´s eyes were wide but he detected a little bit of anger too.  
>"Really? When?"<p>

"Last night at my club in the city, my mate went home with one of her friends, it was a fun night." He could see Charlie let out a sigh in relief as she gave him a somewhat thankful look.  
>"Well then you won´t mind if I leave you alone for a while?"<p>

"Not at all mate!"

As Jack walked away they just stood and took each other in and he was once again struck by her beauty, last night had not done her justice. After a few moments in awkward silence and staring he decided to break the silence. He took a step closer towards her and he could see how she retained herself from backing away, not wanting to appear weak.  
>"Got everything when you run away this morning did ya?"<p>

"What are you talking about, I wasn´t running away." He chuckled softly and brought his hand up and discreetly stroked her cheek making her slap it away.

"Sure you weren´t and that´s why you left without a note and before I woke up. And to not forget the fact that you left your panties in my bed. It made me hard just thinking about you without them." He pulled the blue lace from his pocket and showed them to Charlie making her blush slight as she tried to grab them from him but he put them back into his pocket while shaking his head. "Ah,ah these are mine Beautiful. What I would like to know is why you run of in such a hurry?"

She snorted at him and crossed her arms defiantly over her chest as she glared at him. "Like you give a damn, you would´ve kicked me out anyway. I´m just surprised you didn´t do it before you fell asleep. You´re a womaniser only after one thing, it´s just your wounded ego talking. I bet you aren´t used to women leaving you, are you?"

"Well you know you enjoyed, at least if we´re going to go after your screams. So how about we get out of here and we can make it right this time, and I might let you have these back." His voice was low and his mouth was close to her ear and he could feel her shiver slightly.

"I don´t think so tough guy, I don´t do repeats." And with that she walked away, her hips swaying lightly making him more determined than ever to have her in his bed again.

"We´ll see about that!"


	4. Chapter 3 - Game on

∞ Chapter three - Game on ∞  
>Brax's pov<p>

He was crouching down in the sand the next morning, fastening his safety strap as he looked out over the ocean were a few more were riding waves. It was still early, the sun had just risen, so the beach was practically empty. He could see Casey further down the beach with Romeo, both blowing of some steam before they had to be stuck in school all day and Heath he had no idea were he was. He was probably bumming around somewhere and that was just fine with him, that gave him some peace and quite to deal with his own her head.

Last night had not exactly gone as he expected, when he had went next door he would've never expected to see Charlie there and find out that "his" Charlie was also Jack's sister Charlie. It might not be ideal but his day turned so much better the moment she stepped into that backyard. When he woke up yesterday morning he accepted the fact that she had run away from him and he wouldn't see the sexy minx he had bedded the night before, but now that they were living in the same small town he was gonna get his payback. He was gonna make her beg for him and then burn her just as she did to him, despite all his instincts she got to him somehow.  
>He was startled out of his thoughts when another board was dropped into the sand just next to him and then Jack's ugly mug came down to his level, and it wasn't a pretty sight.<br>"What the heck happened to you mate? It looks like you've been hit by a truck or something." A chuckle escaped his lips even though he tried to contain it. Jack had big bags under his eyes and he winched at the sound of his laugh, he must have one hell of a hangover and Brax wasn't surprised considering all the beers he drank last night.

"Shut up will ya, I'm seriously not in the mood right now."  
>"Then why the hell are you up already, shouldn't you be home in bed eating asprin like every other weak male?" Jack sent him a glare that should've buried him ten feet under the ground but it at least got him to shut up.<p>

"I would love to do that but if I do that and show up like this at the station in three hours Charlie will absolutely kill me and after she has killed me she would fire me."  
>"Hang on! Are you telling me that Charlie, your baby sister, is your boss and gets to boss you around at work and home? Haha that's hilarious!" Jack looked at him as if he had two heads and should wear a straight jacket behind lock and key. "Oh come on mate, your lovely baby sister has you wrapped around her little finger. You would do anything for her, the way you have been nagging on and on about her, it's not rocket-science."<p>

A goofy-looking yet serious smile crossed his face as he looked out over the water, getting lost in his thoughts about his lovely sister.  
>"Yeah, you're probably right. She is though, all the things she went through after we lost mom... and yet she still manages to keep me and Pete in line. She's our family's little sunshine, I don't know what I would do without her." Despite how nice it was to hear about a family that was so kept together as the Holdens it was way to early to have such deep conversations so he decided to light it up a bit.<br>"Well, for started you would still be in bed, not being scared out of your wits that she would fire you for being hangover that's for sure."  
>That got laughter from the both of them and they both turned their attention to the water where Tony was heading further out and a girl with dark hair were on her way in to shore, he could hear Jack mumbling incoherent in the background but all his focus was on the beauty that was making her way out of the water and towards them.<p>

As she got closer his jaw hit the sand in astonishment. The girl, or more like woman, was none other then Charlie and she looked fine! Her body's most sacred parts were hidden behind a white bikini that made her looked more tan then she was and brought out her entire water-drop soaked body on display. Her legs were moving in a sensual rhythm and under her arm she held a surfboard. She had just raised the bar.  
>When she reached them she looked slightly embarrassed for a fraction of a section that she had caught him looking at her but she quickly covered it up and acted like nothing as she buried the nose of the board in the sand.<br>"You just took the word sexy to a whole new level!"

That comment earned him a hard slap on the back of his head from Jack and a half blush, half glare from Charlie.  
>"Dude, that's my sister?!"<br>"So? She's still hot." Jack just shock his head and strapped his board to his ankle before running towards the water and called over his shoulder.  
>"I'm not gonna listen to you flirt with my sister mate and I'm not even gonna waste my time to tell you the whole "you hurt her I'll kill"-speech, firstly because you won't listen anyway and secondly there's noway in hell she's stupid enough to date your stupid as."<br>"Thanks mate, that really warmed my heart!" He chuckled and turned his attention towards Charlie who stood slightly turned away from him as she tried off with her towel. "You know that you're not making it easier on yourself right?" She turned to him her whole face showing of confusion, her eyebrows raised and her arms crossed over her chest.  
>"What are you on about?"<br>"Surfing, being a cop... I told you that there was nothing sexier then a hot chick on a board. You're just making me more determined to get you, and you should now that I love to chase after what I want."  
>"Your cute lines wont work on me though guy. You should find someone else who will stroke your ego."<br>"Why when you do it so well?" A smirk crossed his face and after a few seconds a faint blush crept up her cheeks after she realised her mistake and the double-meaning of what she just said. Slightly flustered she grabbed her board and walked away without a word, he couldn't help but watch her walk away and the sway of her hips made him draw in a sharp breath. She was going to kill him if he didn't have her soon. He had stopped counting how many times he had gotten hard but couldn't get release, it was starting to get painful.

After his surf he went home and grabbed a shower before heading into work. Once he got in there was no time for a break, he thought he had done most of the damage-control yesterday when he got back but Heath had managed to make more mess then he thought was possible after only two days. The deliveries were all messed up and had not been payed and the boxes were still to be unpacked and there was the huge pile of paperwork that was laying on his desk in the office waiting for him to go through them. He sighed at the sight, knowing he would be here way after closing time, but it was worth it, the restaurant was their lifejacket if anything ever went wrong, it gave them cover and it would provide them with money when they had to stop with the side business just as the club would. So that's why he would spend so much time trying to make something of it, despite the fact that he sometimes wanted to puke on it.

He was half way through packing up the deliveries when a flustered Heath came running up the stairs and into the restaurant, calling his name franticly. With a sigh he abandoned his task and left the storeroom only to find his brother pacing circles in front of the bar.  
>"What do you want Heath, didn't I tell ya not to come here if we didn't want every one to get whim of the whole thing?!"<br>"Whatever! What are we going to do about the coppers."  
>"What about the coppers? How in hell do we have them on our backs already?" Heath looked at him a little sheepishly and Brax tried to control his temper, as soon as Heath had mentioned cops his anger had risen. They had been in the bay for six months and their operation had only been up and running for less then three months, ever since he had bought Angelo's, and they had already the cops on their backs. That might mean that they had to move away sooner then he expected and if he was truly honest he wasn't to sure if he wanted to move from here. He liked it here, he practically lived and worked on the beach, he had friends that didn't know what he did and didn't look up to him because they were terrified of him and wanted to be like him. But there was no doubt in his mind that if he had to he would move anyway.<p>

"They have been starting to nose around, I don't think that they no much because they never do anything, they just check on us from time to time. And they got this new one, she's really hot and according to our contacts she's good too. good thing she wasn't here when we started." He didn't even have to say the new cops name, hot and new was all he needed to hear to know that it was Charlie. He knew that she was though and if she was Jack's boss, who was a good cop, then it was no surprise to him that she would be good to. Charlie. She was really messing with his life in every aspect but she was also going to be his solution.  
>"I have an in at the copshop that I can use to try to figure out what they are up to... But if that's the case I can't be seen with the guys at all, that would blow the whole thing. I have to act like I'm totally straight and the only thing that connects me to it is that you happens to be my brother. And most importantly, you can't judge me. What I'm about to do is for the boys and I do what I have to to keep myself out of the loop so there's someone to back you up." With a nodded Heath slapped him on the back and walked out of the restaurant without a word.<p>

As he walked he walked back into the storeroom he felt pretty proud of himself, he was going to if both his problem and the boys by doing one and the same thing. He was going to get cosy with Charlie, and by cosy he meant real cosy.

∞ Charlie's pov ∞

She had yet to unpack and she had barley been at her house. The first night back she had stayed her dad's place with Ruby, watching movies in their bed before falling asleep and then the next morning she had went straight to work after her morning surf with her dad. But despite all that she still felt relaxed and at home as she sat by her desk in her office, reading reports on a case she had been handed from the another station. It was about the Riverboys that had previously been stationed further down the coast but had now moved back to Summerbay and their leader was apparently Heath Braxton, Brax and Casey's brother.

Despite that her brothers told her that neither Casey or Brax was involved, that Brax would have none of it and made it his task to make sure that Casey didn't go down the same road as Heath, she did a background check on them and their family which showed her that they all had a record. Their father was currently in jail after having committed several robberies and he had several years left on his sentence. Their mother was a drunk who they had many times been forced to take home after they had been called out to a domestic and she was almost always involved. Heath himself had been busted with drugs a few times and been arrested for suspicion of many things but never been convicted, Casey had been in and out of juvie after a break and entering when he was fifteen but had since then stayed clean. Brax's on the other hand was almost to clean for a family like his, there were a few incidents when he was younger but for the past ten years at least there was not even a parking or speeding ticket in his name. He was an honourable businessman with no dodgy contacts accept for his brother. But despite all that she still had a gut feeling that something was wrong and that something was happening right under her nose that wasn't' visible on paper.

Slightly frustrated of not getting anywhere she threw the papers on her desk and walked out of the station and sat down on the hood of her car, breathing in the fresh air. Darryl Braxton seemed to be the one and only thing on her mind lately, he wouldn't leave her alone. At home he showed up and made her hot and flustered with need, at work he showed up and made her doubt her instincts and steer her in the wrong direction. It was not good for her, she needed to get her head out of the gutter and forget about him all together but he was making it really hard. She kept replaying their night together, how his very touch set her on fire and when he whispered pet-names in her ear she felt something that wasn't supposed to be there. What was supposed to be a one night stand with a stranger totally backfired. The supposed stranger just happened to be her daughter's boyfriend's, of whom she didn't know about, brother and he just had to have moved in next doors to her father while she was away. It couldn't get more messed up then that, she was in serious need of a girl talk. Quicker then lightning she had taken out her phone from her pocket and hit speed-dial for her saviour.  
>"Hi, it's me. Do you have time for a coffee? I really need to talk..." After a few seconds the call was ended and Charlie jumped into her car and drove off towards the diner.<p>

Arriving at the diner she got her coffee from Irene and went out to sit at the end of the pier, as she waited for her saviour she took of her low black heels she had to wear to work with her ridiculous suit. Sometimes she would stretch it and wear jeans instead of dress-pants, like today she wore dark blue jeans, her heels and an white button/up blouse she had tucked in at the waist, cause she still had to look professional.

She dipped her toes in the water and savoured the free feeling she got by the light breeze and the feeling of the water running between her toes. After a few minutes another pair of bare feet joined hers and when she looked up from the water she was met by Bianca's piercing green eyes that was looking worriedly at her.  
>"Hey, are you okay? You sounded weird on the phone."<br>"Yeah, I'm okay I just really need to talk to someone or I'm going to explode. But you have to promise not to tell Martha or Leah, cause you know they will tell Jack and Dan and they talk to each other and..."  
>"Woah, take a breath will you sweetie?! I promise! Now tell me, you're freaking me out!" Charlie took a deep breath and turned her focus towards the ocean as she thought back to her first night back in Australia.<p>

"When I got back two days ago I stayed in the city to catch up with my old colleagues and we went to our favourite club. We talked about my trip, got drinks and after a while we started dancing. Then this really hot guy walked in with his friends and he pinned me down with his eyes as soon as he walked through the door. At first we just stood across the room and stared at each other once in a while but later on by the bar he approached me, I got him to buy me a beer and we flirted a lot. Then we started dancing, I was horny I hadn't really been with anyone in over a month, and I stupidly enough told him to take me home."  
>Bianca just stared at her in amazement and shock her head slightly. "A woman after my own heart, now what's wrong with that?"<br>"We feel asleep and when I woke up the next morning it was in his arms. I knew what kind of guy he was, I'm not stupid, so I didn't see a point in hanging around having to go through the same lame speech he gives to every other girl he's bedded. So I left and thought it was the end of it, but it wasn't... I saw again last night, at dad's."  
>"Who Charlie, who?!"<br>"Brax, Casey's brother." Embarrassed with herself she hid her face in her hands and groaned when she heard Bianca laugh quietly next to her. "It's not funny Bianca. It was so embarrassing when he called me out on it and then he kept leaving hints all night in front of Jack, and then this morning I run into him after my surf and he flirted with me with Jack standing next to him?! God, I wanted to die at the spot."

"No I know, I'm sorry! But honey you shouldn't feel embarrassed, every woman in this town from the age of twenty up to fifty have been ogling him since he moved here six months ago, you just landed a pipe dream." They held each other's gaze having a silent conversation before both turned to the ocean and sipped on their coffee in silence, just enjoying the peace and quiet for a while. At least that's what she thought. "So.. was he good?"  
>"So, so damn good!" They both burst out in laughter so tears were coming out of their eyes. Charlie felt as if a huge weight had been lifted of her chest, ever since she saw Brax in her father's backyard she has been dying to tell someone her secret, someone she could went about all his attempts.<p>

Later that day she got home to an empty house as Ruby was out with Casey and she couldn't help but sigh with relief, she was bummed. Being away for six months and leaving her two brother's in charge of her station left a lot of paperwork they had saved for her. She kicked of her shoes as soon as she got inside the kitchen door and left ajar as she walked barefoot over to the fridge and grabbed the pitcher of ice water. She filled her glass and jumped up on the counter and sipped her drink with closed eyes as she slowly started to relax.  
>"Shouldn't that be wine in that glass instead?"<br>She didn't even have to open her eyes to know who it was, that voice managed to send shivers up her spine after only a few encounters with it. But knowing that she couldn't keep pretending that him in her kitchen was just a dream she reluctantly open her eyes, and there he was, leaning against her doorframe looking just as good as ever. His black t-shirt clung to his upper body, his ripped jeans hung loosely on his hips and his green eyes looked intently at her.  
>"What are you doing here?"<br>"I was looking for Casey, thought he might be here." He tried to pull on an innocent face and crooked his head a little to the side with a small smile.  
>"Yeah right, well they are not here I think they were going out with Xav and Romeo. So now you can leave, don't let the door hit you on the way out."<p>

He let out a heart warming chuckle and pushed off the doorway and strode into her kitchen as he owned the place. He stopped behind her on the kitchen island and she couldn't help but feel a little bit unnerved of not being able to see him. She almost had a heart-attack when his hands grabbed her shoulders and started to massage them softly.  
>"You're tense detective.." She debated wether she should pull away or not but his hands were working magic so she couldn't find it in herself to pull away. "You know Charlie, I'm a bit disappointed... When I found out you were a cop and none the less Jack's boss I had imagined you in uniform.."<br>"Sorry to disappoint you."  
>"That's quite alright, you still surf and you do look good in a suit but I prefer you naked."<br>"Is that all you think about Brax?"

His hands stopped it's motions and he moved so he was standing before her, his hands in her thighs while he was looking her in they eye. "No it's not. Go on a date with me."  
>"What?!" She stared at him like she was a lunatic on the lose from the madhouse. Was he really serious, going on a date with him? Words like womaniser, Heath, one night stand, mistake and not a good idea swirled around in her head as she tried to read his face if he was serious or just playing a prank. And is if he could read her thoughts he looked her right in the eye, making it impossible for her to look away.<br>"I'm not my brother Charlie and I'm might not be great at relationships but I know as well as you do that we were great together and that there's something more then just sex."  
>"And how would you know that huh?"<br>"Maybe I'll tell you one day." He winked at her and let his hands travel up her legs to her waist. Before they could travel any further she stopped them and brought them away from her and back to his side before she pushed lightly on his chest making him move out of her personal space.

"I think you should leave, yeah" He nodded and walked back towards the door but turned around and threw her one cheeky smile.  
>"I'm not giving up Beautiful! Remember, I always get what I want." And with that he walked out the door and left her sitting astonished on the bench long after he left and she was sure she was in for one hell of a ride, well she wouldn't give in that easily that's for sure. Game on!<p>

**There you go guys! Hope you liked it! **  
><strong>I'm not sure about the whole detective dress code, I tried to find some information but it wasn't easy so if anyone of you know please tell me so I can correct it. And if you have any other suggestions or thoughts don't be afraid to tell me, I love your intel!<strong>

**Almost done with my CC, what do you think of my work and way of writing now?**

**XxX Lexie ∞**


	5. Chapter 4 - crossfire

**Here you go guys! Second update in two days in a row, it must be some kind of record! But don't get used to it, I'm just on role right now, ideas just pop into my head! **  
><strong>Well read and let me know what you think! <strong>  
><strong>Xxx Lexie<strong>

**∞ Chapter four - Crossfire ∞**  
><strong>Charlie's pov<strong>

Her feet hit the asphalt in a fast yet steady rhythm but she could barley hear it for the beating of her heart that was ringing in her ears. She was starting to get really tired but she only had a little bit left she could almost she her house, so with the little energy she had left she pushed harder into the ground the last five hundred meters and once she was outside her back door she sunk to the ground and breathed heavily as she rested her arms on her knees. After a few minutes of trying to calm down her breathing she finally noticed the note that was lying on the doormat outside the door. Picking it up from the ground she unfolded it and started to read.

It's the Holden family day! Pack your stuff and get your butt down to the beach, Rubes is here already.  
>Love you, Pete.<p>

With a smile she run into the house and jumped into the shower, antsy getting to the beach. The smile never left her face, her family was truly amazing, they always knew what she needed. She had been back in town for a little over a week and she had been in the station almost every second of the day, except for the few hours at night that she spent at home with Ruby and sleeping. So on her day off nothing sounded better then a family picnic that they would every once in a while. Her dad, Beth, Pete and Georgia, Jack and Martha, she and Ruby, sometimes VJ and Beth's kids when they were in town, would go down to the beach with towels, food and blankets. They would surf, play soccer in the sand, eat Beth's food and just hang out with each other. It was a day full of fun and laughter, and that was exactly what she needed.

Turning of the shower she wrapped a towel around her body and walked into her room to throw on a dark blue bikini and matching lose sundress that ended just above her knees. So with her bag on her shoulder, flip flops on her feet and her board under her arm she went down to the beach were her family was waiting.  
>As she reached the beach everything was already set in motion, blankets lay in the sand and occupied a large area of the beach, in the middle of the blankets stood baskets and bags and behind them were several boards showed down with the nose into the sand. Beth and Martha was sitting on a blanket with a glass of wine in hand watching the other lunatics as they run around in the sand after a football. She could make out her daughters laugh among the many noises and when she spotted her she was swung up into the air by Casey, that was racking down towards the water with her in his arms and Charlie couldn't contain her smile. She might have been a little opposite her daughters relationship with Casey Braxton at first but after watching the two of them together she realised that he was a good kid despite the fact that he had Heath as a brother.<p>

The whole day they run around on the beach doing everything in the book, she showed them pictures of her trip and when everyone else was out in the water she, Martha and Beth gushed over the pictures of the boys she had met in different places around the world. It was the perfect day, she couldn't remember the last time she was this happy.

When she and Ruby arrived home later that day they were both to exhausted to cook dinner after being out in the sun all day, so it ended up with Charlie going over to Angelo's to pick up some pizzas. The only thing she didn't count on and that she didn't have the energy to deal with was Brax. She had totally forgotten that he now owned the restaurant and not Angelo. So when he came up behind the bark she almost bolted out the door but then he had already pinned her with his eyes and she knew it was too late. Sighing she walked over to the bar where he stood grinning and looking incredibly handsome.  
>"You just couldn't stay away, could you?"<br>"Two meat-lovers please." She said with a fake smile, totally ignoring his try to flare her up, making him chuckle slightly as he took her money and sent the order with a waiter. She took a seat and one of the barstools playing with her phone as she waited for the pizzas, hoping he would go away but he didn't. He only took a step to the side so he was standing right in front of her again and leaned with his lower arms on the bar.

"What do you want Brax?"  
>"I just wanted to say thank you, for letting Casey tag along on your family day. He really liked it, he hasn't stopped talking about it since he got home. He, I, really appreciate it."<br>"No, it was nice having him there, he's a good kid.." She looked up from her phone and met his eyes, giving him a small smile making him smile back.  
>"Unlike his brothers you mean?"<br>"You're not a bad person Brax, you're charming and I don't trust you, but you're not a bad person."  
>"Well how about it then, when are you going to let me take you out and show you I can charming and trustworthy?" She opened her mouth to answer but before she could speak she was interrupted by the ringing of her phone. Seeing that it was work she couldn't ignore it, so reluctantly she answered it knowing that this would ruin her night with Ruby.<br>"Charlie Holden... Yep I'm on my way, pick me up outside Angelo's!" With a groan she hung up the phone and closed her eyes for a few seconds.  
>"Is everything okay Charlie?"<br>"Yeah, can I ask you a favour? Can you call Ruby for me and tell her that the pizza is here, and that I had to go to work so if she doesn't want to be alone tonight she should go home to dads? I might be late."  
>"Sure thing." But she could barley hear him cause she was already halfway through the door. As she came out if the surf club Jack was already in the parking lot waiting for her, she was grateful that she had changed out of her dress when she got home to jeans and sneakers, this was gonna be a long night.<p>

When she jumped into the car Jack sent her an apologetic look that resembled a puppy dog. "Stop with the eyes Jacky, it's not gonna help."  
>"I'm sorry Charles, I know you were spending the evening with Rubes but the information just got in and it's your case..."<br>"Yeah, yeah, just drive and get me up to speed."  
>"Okay, we got a call from Fitzy, they had followed Heath and a few other guys through the night and now they followed them to a warehouse, and a few minutes ago the car further down the road called about a couple of cars driving in that direction. They are expected any minute now."<p>

Five minutes later they drove up next to Fitzy and Georgina who got them up to speed. Apparently there was six people in the warehouse, Heath, Mike and Sam from the Riverboys, Jake and Hammer Pirovich and one other bloke from their crew.  
>She might have left the restaurant in a bad mood but it suddenly rose up high again, she hadn't been out on a bust since a few months before she left for overseas and the excitement got to her big time. She was ready to do this.<br>They all spread out and surrounded the building trying to find another way in, she found a window that she managed to hoist herself through despite her height. Luckily for her it didn't make any sound even though the hinges were rusty, giving the impression that it hasn't been used in a while. She landed somewhat soundless on the floor in a closed up room with one way out, luckily there wasn't a door it was just a doorway so she could undetected sneak out in the hallway and walk around in the warehouse. She had her fun drawn but despite the fact she couldn't see anyone she had feeling in her gut that she was being watched, that she was not alone. She crept down a hallway that led deeper into the warehouse as she got to another doorway she could hear voices from the room.  
>"Jack, I've got them. Far into the warehouse, it has several exits on either side. I think they all are in there."<br>"Yeah I found it, I have Fitzy with me. How do you want to do this?"  
>"We stor-" she was cut of by a blow to the back if her head that got her on her knees and her sight got blurrier and the walls were moving an the voices in the background moved further and further away. Someone grabbed her from behind and tugged her away from the room and dropped her unmercifully on the ground and then she heard the footsteps fade away.<p>

When she came around someone had carried her outside and sat her on the ground by her car. There were a lot of people running around and bright lights everywhere. Even though the sun was still up and the air was hot she was cold, she pulled the blanket someone had put on her shoulders tighter and looked on as here colleagues pushed the gang members into the patrol cars. When they all drove off Jack kneeled before her and checked her out for any injuries.  
>"What happened sweetie?"<br>"I felt as if I was being watched the whole time and when I got to the room they struck me from behind and dragged me off. Next thing I know I was out here. "  
>"Are you in pain?" And for the first time she actually considered her pain, it wasn't to bad her shoulders were a bit sore and there was a dull pain in her head but not to bad. All things considered she felt fine.<br>"Nah, I'm fine. I just want to go home, I'll deal with the report tomorrow. Were you able to stick something on them?"

Jack shock his head and helped her stand up and walked her over to the car. You could see from miles away that he was frustrated.  
>"Nothing, the whole building was clean and we can't pin someone to your attack either all six of them was in the room when we busted them. They are just going to claim that they were having a poker game or something. We can't get them for anything."<br>"Well, we'll find something tomorrow. Right now, just get me home."

Brax's pov

He was standing on the balcony to the restaurant and watched Charlie sitting down on the beach in one of the sand dunes. The sun was on its way down making the whole scene look like something from a movie. Her slumped posture told him that she was down about something and he could only assume that it was about the bust he had been told about form Heath one he got out from the copshop. This was his window.  
>Without thinking twice about it he went inside and grabbed two bears from behind the bar and walked out of the restaurant.<p>

He was standing less then two feet away, yet to make his presences known, but something told him that she already knew he was standing there. But that didn't stop him from taking her in, looking her up and down. She was simply gorgeous in her light ripped jeans and oversized hoodie despite the tiered look that occupied her face.  
>He took the last remaining steps so he was standing close enough to touch her.<br>"Can I sit down, I come baring gifts!" He handed her the beer as she nodded and slumped down in the sand beside her. After she had taken a sip from hit she looked at him and offered him a weak smile and he could see her pained face.  
>"Thank you I needed that."<br>"Anytime, I am to please Beautiful!" He winked at her to suppress his true meaning of his words which earned him a punch but it seemed to make her hurt more then him. She winched back and brought up her another hand to massage her shoulder lightly.

"Are you hurt?"  
>"Nah I'm okay."<br>"Let me see!" He put down his beer in the sand and scooted closer to her, he tilted her head a little to the side to get better access. When he pushed away her hair and shirt he saw a big red print on base if her neck and shoulder, a print that would defiantly cause a bruise in the morning. "What happened?"  
>He heard her sigh as she tried to pull up her shirt again but he wouldn't let her, instead he started tracing the print with the tips if his fingers as he waited for her to tell him and after a few seconds she did so reluctantly.<br>"We were on a stake out and I was hit in the head from behind and dragged away. It's nothing serious but it's sore." He could feel the rage rise within him, she was hurt because of one of his own. They had laid a hand on her and now she was hurt. In the back of his mind a voice was feeling him that he shouldn't care but he did anyways. He leaned down and planted a kiss on the exposed skin, making her trembled under his touch.  
>"Brax... Stop it" it didn't come out forcefully like he knew she probably intended it to, instead it came out more like a half moan, half whine and it went straight to his core. He loved the way she reacted to him and felt his presences.<br>He trailed kisses up her neck till he reached her ear and he took her lobe between his teeth, nibbling on it slightly drawing out a low moan from her as she leaned in slightly towards him.

"Are you close with your brother Brax?" He froze in mid motion and looked up at her in surprise.  
>"Who? Heath? Yeah I suppose in a way I am, he is the only family I've got."<br>"What do you know about him and the Riverboys?"  
>"What is this? Twenty questions? In that case shouldn't I be asking you too?" She sighed and turned so that she was sitting with her back towards the ocean, fully facing him.<p>

"I just find it really hard to believe that a guy like you who is close to his brother and have a family like yours don't have a clue of what's going on. I'm not judging you, it's just that you live under the same house as Heath and you're guys are close, you have the same tattoos and all that, yet you've managed to stay straight and not him. I'm just having a hard time believing that."  
>He took a deep breath and looked her straight in the eye, he couldn't see any hidden agenda in her eyes, she actually looked generally interested which should be a good thing for him and he found that he actually wanted to open up to her.<p>

"I used to be involved, when we were younger I was a riverboy too. Everyone came from messed up families so we looked out for each other. We surfed together, partied and every once in a while we did something stupid as breaking and entering. We were low on cash sometimes so I did what I had to to get us food when mom was to out of it and dad not around. But after a few years there came new people and they started to get involved with heavy things I wanted nothing to do with so I left, started working full time and by the time I was eighteen I moved out of home and took Casey with me, we stayed close but we were still out of the house. I tried to get Heath to come along but he didn't listen, he thought it was cool what they were doing, he was always easy to influence. So no I don't know anything, I live with him but I try to stay out of all off that. I've seen what it did to my dad, it's not what it want for me or Casey and someone's got to take care of him."  
>He could see her smiling at and he was slightly confused. He looked questioningly at and she just shrugged and then it clicked.<br>"You already knew all of this didn't you?" He said in an amused tone, why was he surprised? She was a cop, of course she would do a background check on him.  
>"I knew that it stopped when you were young but not why. It was interesting to hear, I'm good at reading people and like I said you're not a bad person."<p>

He grinned at her before he spun her around so that her back was towards him again. He brought his hands up to her shoulders again and started to massage her lightly, minding her bruises. He didn't know why he felt compelled to do this but he just needed to touch he in someway and this was as good as any.  
>"So tell me beautiful, you're a hot detective who can surf, drinks bear and knows how to read people. Is there anything you can't do? Cause you're starting to sound too perfect" she laughed and he could feel how she started to relax under his touch and leaning back against his chest, putting he sweet scent right under his nose and he felt himself drifting away in his thoughts but her angelic voice brought him back to reality.<br>"I can't cook, I'm horrible. The only thing I can do is pancakes, lasagna and home made pizza. How about you, what's your weakness?"  
>He let his hands travel down her back until they reach her waist and slipped them under her shirt so he could caress her bare stomach, making her twitch in his arms. He leaned in close so that his lips almost touched her ear and his breath on her neck, making the hair in her neck rise.<br>"I have little self control around you, do you know how hard it is for me not to take you right here?"  
>"Brax don't!"<br>"Charlie come on! Why are you fighting this? Stop pretending like that night in the city didn't happen. We had sex and it was good, we were good so stop fighting it! Please, you're driving me crazy, just let go"

She nodded reluctantly but relaxed back in his arms and he brought her in a little closer. It felt good to hold her, just as the time they had laid in bed he found that he didn't want to let go. He felt something he couldn't quite make out what it was, but he knew he was traveling on dangerous waters. If he weren't careful he might get burned, if she found out he was screwed and if he then felt something he was really screwed! No! He mentally shock his head. That was not going to happen, he was a pro, a con man. He knew how to act and build up walls, this was not real, he could fight it.


	6. Chapter 5 - The calm before the storm

**Hi guys! I'm sorry for the delay but I got stuck in the middle of this while I was trying to finish it, but anyhow here it is! This is more an in-between chapter to get things rolling but I hope you like it anyway! Read and review guys! XX Lexie**

Chapter five – The calm before the storm

Brax's pov

He was standing out in the summer heat somewhere out in the National park, watching as the boys loaded in the last bags of weed in the back of the truck but his mind wasn't in it. His mind was still in bed wrapped up in Charlie, her resting on his bare chest and their legs tangled under the sheets. It had been with great effort and a lot of texts from Heath that had gotten him to slide out from under Charlie and gotten out of bed to take a shower and get ready that morning. But as he got out of her ensuite showered and fully clothed he went over and lay down on the bed next to her once more and stroked her hair and face tenderly.

He knew right then and there that he was in too deep and that he should put some distance between them, he was the one falling for her right now and not the other way around. They had been together or what you could call them screwing every once in a while for about a month now but that's about it, they were stuck. She had yet to let him in and open up to him, to trust him, she was keeping him at a distance and that got him nowhere he was stuck at square one except more satisfied. And at this point he wasn't too sure if he wanted her to do so for him or for the boys.

The fact that he was standing here right now but was more focused on her then on the business at hand proved that something was wrong. He also found that he cared more about the restaurant itself than at it as a cover. But he fought it with everything he had, he would not accept the fact that he might be turning soft and acting like an actual human being. So with a shake of the head he cleared his mind of any thoughts of Charlie and got back to work. He ordered the boys where to go and where to dump the stuff, he made sure the area was clear of any traces that could lead back to them and that everyone got out of there before he drove off himself.

As he drove off thoughts of Charlie popped out again as he had nothing else to occupy his mind with at the moment. In an attempt to clear his head he took the long route home and then drove around town for a while but when he drove up on the driveway to the house his mind was still full of thoughts of his and Charlie's latest night together. Walking into the house and slamming the door behind him didn't help either, it got him an ugly look though from a newly woken up Kyle that was on his way out to work with a take away coffee in his hand. With a sigh he walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower, hoping that it would relax him. As he waited for the water to heat up real warm he went out to his bedroom again and picked up his phone. He looked at Charlie's number in his contact list for a few seconds, debating with himself whether he should text her or not but decided not. He put it down on the bedside table and walked out of the room, feeling proud of himself, only to walk back in two seconds later and picking it up again and typing a message before hitting send.

**Are you busy? **_**  
>I'm at work. But I get off in half an hour x<br>**_**Good, I'll pick you up in an hour at your place. I'm taking you surfing.x **

Putting down the phone again he walked into the now steam-filled bathroom with a small smile on his face at the plan that had slowly formed in his head. He was going to take her to a secluded beach, cause she wouldn't want to go anywhere else, there he would charm and woo her to get inside her head just like she had done with him meanwhile he built up his own defenses. Then he would lay off for a few days and get her to come to him, that would be good not only for his intentions but also for his ego.

What felt like only felt like minutes of dreaming away and planning must have been a whole lot longer cause suddenly the steaming hot water was replaced by cold water that sent shivers up his spine. Once he was dressed and ready to go it had gone a little more than an hour so he ran out to his car and drove over to Charlie's place. As he drove up she was standing next to the curb waiting for him with her board and bag in hand. She threw her stuff in his trunk and the next thing he knew she was sitting in the passenger seat with a big smile adoring her gorgeous face that made her eyes lit up.

"What's got you smiling like a goof?" She shrugged her shoulders and kept the big smile on her face.  
>"It's a good day that's all."<br>"Is that so ay?" She nodded and leaned in a little closer while looking him straight in the eyes and the look in her made him want to take her back inside instead of what he had planned but he managed to contain himself.  
>"First of I woke up full rested after an incredible night with this hunk of a man, then my daughter shouted me breakfast at the diner and then we made some progress with our case. And now the same hunk from last night is taking me away for day, it doesn't get better than that now does it?"<br>"Sounds like a pretty good bloke I recon."

Their faces were now only inches away from each other and her familiar perfume went straight to his head. His gaze traveled from her soft lips, their touch was imprinted on his brain, to her blue eyes and back again like he was willing her to make that last move that would connect their mouths. After a few seconds of suspense she finally did and he could barely contain a contempt sigh from escaping his lips. He coaxed her lips apart slightly and let his tongue slip in between them. This was what he had been thinking of all day since he had left her bed this morning, he thought back to when they met and how he thought that one time would be enough and that he would be over it, but he was so wrong. She was like an addiction once you tasted her you only wanted more and every time you did the need would increase. She was a temptress.

He managed to control himself and found the strength somehow to reluctantly break their kiss and lean his forehead against hers as he watched her face threw half lidded eyes. She had this dreamy look in her face, her eyes were still closed and her lips were curled into a small, contempt smile.

"We have to stop or there won't be a hell of a lot of surfing done." Her smile widened a bit but her eyes remained closed.  
>"Don't tempt me Mr. Braxton…" The way his name rolled of her tongue made him tense up in his seat and tried hard to think about something else.<br>"Nah, the waves are too good to waste." He smirked as her eyes opened and she pulled away and gasped in mock hurt as her hand flew to her chest.  
>"You wound me!"<br>"Get over it Sweetheart!"

He threw her a cheeky grin that earned him a slap on the arm before he started the car and drove off, passing the town sign and turning out on the country roads that led them further and further away from town.

Charlie's pov

They drove in a tense yet comfortable silence, they didn't need to say anything they were content with just being with each other but they were both on edge with excitement of what this afternoon would hold. They shared secret smiles and heated gazes that were filled with promises, the sexual tension that filled the car could practically be cut with a knife.

She was sitting curled up in the passenger seat with her back leaning to the door and with her head resting against the leather seat. Brax focus was only at the road and she took this opportunity to watch him in peace. She never had the chance to do so otherwise, when she woke up he was either gone or already awake leaning on his elbow watching her and the rest of the day they were always had the run so she could never really take him in more than for a few seconds. So now she took her chance and studied him intensely, how his muscles in his arms would flex as he took them further down the road, how his face was sharp and defined yet soft and relaxed, how the sunrays hit his face and lit up his piercing grey eyes that with one heated look could make her crumble to the ground.

She was startled out of her thoughts by a large, strong hand caressing her bare thigh, following the path of the strong arm of the owner of the hand she was met by a slightly amused looking Brax.

"Where were you off to?"  
>"Just enjoying the view" She said with a cheeky grin that earned her a squeeze to her thigh that made her squeal slightly with laughter and squirm in her seat. Brax laughed wholeheartedly next to her as she tried to pout and push his hand away but it managed to find its way back and stay put.<p>

After another five minutes Brax finally turned off the main road and drove on a small gravel road that was nearly hidden behind all the trees and bushes, making it almost impossible to see from the road. She was slightly confused of why they would be driving into the woods when they were going surfing but she shrugged it off and just went along with whatever Brax had planned for them.

When the car finally stopped she was stunned by the breathtaking sight before her. They were parked on a small, deserted picnic area that was placed on top of a hill that was edging down to a small, empty beach that was totally surrounded by cliffs and sand dunes. It was heaven. She was totally enchanted by the view that she didn't notice Brax coming up behind her with their boards and her bag in hand and a smug grin on his face. His large hand found hers and their fingers entwined as he pulled her along down the path that led down the hill to the beach.  
>"How did you find this place?!"<p>

He dropped their boards into the sand and let go of her hand as he stated to take of his shirt so only stood before her in his boardies, showing of his god-looking body.  
>"When I was younger and it got really ugly at home or later if I just had a rough time I would drive up and down the coast looking for a place to think. And one day I just had to get away or I would do something really stupid I found this place, so this is my safe house, this is where I run."<p>

She felt a flutter erupt in her stomach as he told her this and at the fact that he would share this with her. She knew she shouldn't let him get to her but he was making it really difficult. The reason she insisted that they would keep "them" quite had nothing to do with her job and the Riverboys but simply the fact that if something would happen and they would get bored of each other it will be so much simpler if it was all just about emotionless sex. Plus she had this feeling in her gut, despite what he had told her, that something was not right and that something was off about him but that could also be the fact that she's suspicious of every man who came near her after Grant.

She looked away from his gaze and concentrated on getting ready. She could hear his sharp intake of breath as she pulled her dress over her head, as it came of her and she got her vision back she gulped at the look in his eyes. In two quick strides he was standing right in front of her and grabbed the dress from her hands and threw it down in the sand. Within seconds she was in his arms, their lips crushed against each other's in a passionate kiss. His one hand held the back of her neck to keep her face steady while his other was placed on her hips, pulling their bodies closer to one and other, her hands traveled up over his smooth chest and into his hair massaging his skull. The kiss was slow and gentle but yet filled with so much passion it made her toes curl in the sand. With one last peck on her lips he broke apart and leaned his forehead against hers as he looked at her through hooded eyes.

"You´re going to be the death of me, Charlie" He said in a hoarse whisper. He gave her a final peck and then he let go of her and picked up his board, leaving her slightly flustered. "Are you coming or what?"

They had spent nearly two hours surfing when she had had enough and paddled into shore to sunbath instead. She laid down on her towel and leaned on her elbows to look out over the water watching Brax as he was in his ace, after a few minutes she lay back down and closed her eyes just enjoying the warmth and she could feel sleep crawling on her. Just as she was about to dose off she was disturbed by the warmth being replaced with cold. She opened her eyes for a fraction of a second just to see Brax leaning over her on his elbows, with a groan she closed her eyes again and tried to push him off her but he wouldn't budge.  
>"Am I that boring that you feel the need to fall asleep on me?"<p>

"Get off me Brax, you're cold!" He leaned down closer so she could feel his entire body level with hers but he still held up his weight by the elbows.  
>"I'm freezing and you're hot… in more ways than one."<p>

She groaned once again and tried to move away from under him but he held her in place and she could feel his hot breath on her neck, it was soon replaced by warm openmouthed kisses that made her feel warm all over and made her forget all about the cold she had just felt.

"Braaa-x!" It came out as a moan but there was an underlying warning in it, she heard him sigh and then he moved off her and lay down next to her. She turned her head and opened her eyes and peered at him threw half lidded eyes, he was watching her right back with a small smile. He had been doing that all lot lately when they were together, smile that is, it wasn't his usual cocky smirk but an actually genuine smile.

"What?" She looked at him curiously and slightly intrigued but he just looked away sheepishly and shock his head.  
>"Nothing" With that he stood up and towered over her and reached out his hand for her to grab. "Come on, we're going swimming."<p>

Was he joking? She looked at him in astonishment and shock her head but took his hand anyway and let him pull her up. "You're serious?! You just got out."  
>"I was born in the water baby, get used to it. Now come on!"<p>

He tugged her into the water were they fooled around, teased and pushed each other around for a while before they decided to pack up and head home cause Brax had to go to work. The drive back to town was filled with teasing, laughing and from time to time normal conversation. She couldn't wipe the smile of her face and she couldn't stop laughing at his ridicules jokes, she had the most amazing day she could barely remember the last time she was this carefree as she was right now.  
>He dropped her off outside Angelo's so that he could run right upstairs, as she was about to walk away after saying goodbye he stopped her and pulled her back. Just as he was about to kiss her she turned her head away and backed slightly.<p>

"What?" He sighed and run a hand through his hair in frustration and took a step forward so he had her backed up against the car but he didn't touch her again. "Why are you so ashamed of being seen with me?"  
>"I'm not ashamed Brax?!"<br>"Then why won't you tell anybody about us huh?"  
>"Are you serious, us doesn't even exists?! We agreed on casual and I don't see the point in exposing it if it's nothing serious, it has nothing to do with me being ashamed or not!" She looked him straight in the eye searching for some kind of protest but she only found resignation and defeat. He nodded slightly before leaning in quickly and pecking on her lips, catching her of guard and then he was off with a smile and a goodbye.<p>

Brax's pov

He was standing on the balcony to the restaurant looking down at the beach as he was waiting for lunch hour to begin so he could open the restaurant. He followed a familiar figure as she ran carefree down the beach in tight yoga pants and a lose tank top. He had not seen her since their day at the beach, she had texted several times but he had always made some kind of excuse and she didn't even blink. It wasn't unusual for them not to meet up for a couple of days they were both busy but he had a really hard time restraining himself from going down to beach right now or drive over to her house to see her. But he was gonna stick to his game and wait for her to come running to him, he didn't see any point in wasting energy and time to chase after someone who didn't know that they wanted to be chased. So he waited for her to come to him when she had come to terms with the fact that she wanted him.

But it had been four days. Four days since he last touched her. He couldn't help it bur he missed her, he wanted to kick himself for being so stupid he knew it was dangerous, if she were ever to find out about his involvement with the Riverboys he was risking losing his heart. He would love for all of this to be his life, him owning a restaurant, living with Kyle and Casey, his girlfriend and his best friend being cops… But he knew that that could never happen, he was the leader of the Riverboys and his brother would never except he knew that much, he was as good as dead if that would happen and he couldn't convince Heath that the only reason he did it was for the information.

With a last look at Charlie before she disappeared from his sight he let out a frustrated sigh and turned around and walked back into the restaurant only to find Jack sitting at the bar looking at him funnily.  
>"What's wrong with you mate? You seem tense." He just blew out a frustrated breath and walked around to the other side of the bar with a shake of the head and started to move things around that didn't need to be moved. "By that look on your face I would say that it's woman trouble."<p>

"What the heck, are you a mind reader now or what?"

"No, you're just really obvious. So what's going on? You've been sulking around for the last few days."

"I met this chick in the city a couple of weeks back…"

"The one that you actually spent the night after you had slept together?"

"Yup that one, we been seeing each other since then every once in a while and I actually like her but she is stubborn and insist on keeping me in the shadows." Jack chocked on the water and spluttered it out all over the bar desk before turning double in laughter.  
>"L-let me get this straight, she's keeping you as her dirty little secret? Haha this is priceless!"<p>

"Shut your trout or I'll do it for you!" His face turned grim and his lips were super thin as Jack tried his best to hold in his laugh. Eventually he managed to calm down enough to string together a sentence.

"So what are you doing about it? What's the game plan?" He moves on from moving things around to wiping of the bar, which he had already done more than once. He ignores Jack's intense stare cause then he would only see Charlie's eyes and he was afraid that he would blurt it all out to Jack if he did.

"I've been ignoring her calls and waiting for her to come to me instead."

"Yeah? How's that working out for ya?"

"You think I would be standing here telling you all of this if it was going alright?"

"Sorry mate!"

Brax just nodded and turned to the next task, his head spinning full of thoughts and future plans. This was sure going to be a hell of a long day.

CxB CxB CxB CxB CxB CxB

He was exhausted and he was only halfway through the nightshift, he had deliberately kept himself busy all day and the restaurant had been swarming with people so there had been plenty to do. But despite all that he was not exhausted enough to get the voices in his head to shut up. One were nagging on him to throw everything to the wind and just go after Charlie, while the other was telling him to man up and become the coldhearted bastard he once used to be and just stick to the plan, and right now the later was more tempting.

He dragged three big black garbage bags out to the back and threw them in the container with a little bit more force than necessary, taking out a bit of frustration in the process. As he turned around the corner on his way back he slammed right into another body and by instinct his arms encircled when he felt the familiar petty frame. He held on a bit longer then he had to, making sure that she was steady before he let go of her and took a step back.

"Hi!" A small but warm smile spread across her face which made him smile slightly as well despite doing everything to contain it.  
>"Hey!"<br>"I haven't seen you in a while." He stuffed his hands in his back-pockets trying to block any emotions from showing in his eyes and ignoring the hopeful look in hers.  
>"Yeah, I've been busy hey." His voice was cold and emotionless just as his eyes and he could see that it threw her off. Then all of the sudden her eyes filled with slightly with concern.<p>

"What's wrong? Why haven't you picked up the phone?"

"Nothing's wrong, and why do you care? We're just screwing right?" He could almost see her winch at his comment and he regretted it almost immediately and wished he could take it back, but it was done now and it was what he would normally say.  
>"Seriously, you´re throwing that in my face?! I was just concerned but I guess it was for nothing."<p>

"You're words not mine. I've made it clear from the start that I like you and want more but you kept throwing that in my face and that-that kinda hurt, Charlie. So form now on you'll have to find a new guy to screw around cause I'm out detective." The hurt look on her face transformed into anger and something inside of him told him that that was not something he wanted to be on the other end of when she released it. But that was he defense mechanism, when she got hurt she countered with anger and then shut down instead of throwing hurtful things back like anny other woman in this world would do.

"Go to hell Mr. Braxton." With a sarcastic laugh and a shake of the head she walked past him, making sure she would not touch him at any time. He ran his hands threw his hair in frustration and slammed a fist in the concrete-wall. He really messed up, this was not the way it was supposed to go, he was supposed to play indifferent and not piss her off and then she would comply with him. But somehow he had let his anger and hurt get the better of him and he had gotten way to personal. He was screwed.

**Read, review, tell me what you think and ask any questions you might have, that makes it all so much more fun to write when you get response! xx**


	7. Chapter 6 - open windows

Chapter 6 – Open windows  
>Charlie's pov<p>

It has been almost a week since her fight with Brax and the despite the anger she felt towards him she somehow missed him, missed his husky voice when he would wake her up in the morning before either one of them had to sneak out, and she missed how they would tease and rile each other up while the other tried to play indifferent when they were around other people. But the anger was enough to keep her away, she had felt slightly guilty over how she had brushed him off after their day at the beach but the other day he had been so cold that all that guilt went away.

For the last few days she had done everything in her power to ignore him and trying to not be some place she knew he could be, she knew his schedule pretty well so her avoidance had been pretty easy. She had stopped going to Angelo's completely and if the station had ordered pizza she now got someone else to do it instead of picking it up herself. She only went to the Diner when she was absolutely sure he would not be popping in there and she tried to schedule her runs and surfing for a time when she knew he would be at work. But that didn't stop them from running into one and other every once in a while. Mostly it would be at the beach, she would come running just as he was on his way out of the water or the other one would run in as the other one ran out. Sometimes their gazes would meet, and she could've sworn she had seen a little bit of regret, but mostly she would avoid it and pretend she didn't see that it was him.

Right now she was lying frustrated in bed, looking every five seconds at the clock to see if it has moved only to see that it hasn't, as her thoughts were running threw her mind at high speed. She was angry, frustrated, slightly tired and incredibly horny. All these thoughts of Brax made her long for him even more and get even more frustrated.

The annoying red numbers on her clock showed her that it was a little past midnight and that she had to be up in a little less than six hours. She sighed and rolled over to her back and stared up at the celling, she knew very well that she wouldn't get much sleep tonight and that tomorrow would be hell. Sighing once more she turned so that her back was facing the window and the damn clock. She closed her eyes and just let the thoughts of Brax take her cause she knew it would be the only way she would even get just a little bit of sleep.

She let the breeze that came through the open window lull her to peace and after a few minutes she found herself utterly relaxed. Just as she was about to fall under the spell she heard some soft rustling and then she felt how the madras dipped, making her whole body tense. She could feel someone behind her but she didn't dare to turn around, she almost screamed as two arms sneaked around her waist to pull her closer to them and then she felt light kisses on her neck, then she knew exactly who it was.

"Brax, what are you doing here?!" She was supposed to sound annoyed but she only sounded tired as her voice was laced with sleep and got rid of all emotions. She moved out of his arms and turned around to face him. He looked tired as he lay there in his black work shirt with its sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of worn out jeans but that didn't make him look less handsome. Her eyes softened when she saw how tired he was so tried to use a soft voice and hide her anger. "Are you insane? You scared the crap out of me! Wh-what – Why are you climbing in through my window in the middle of the night, why are you here?"

His hand come up to her face and stroked her cheek, she knew she should move away but she had missed his touch so she just leaned into it a little bit and let it be.  
>"You're driving me crazy, Charlie! You're the most stubborn and independent woman I have ever come across. I've been trying to get you out of my head for over a week and trying to tell myself I don't want you, but hell that's the worst lie I have ever heard. You have found your way into my head and you won't leave, in the back of my mind I've been hoping that you would cave and come running all week but you didn't so… God I sound like freakin wuss don't I?"<p>

She let out a laugh she had been holding in since he had started speaking, he was right he sounded ridicules so unlike him, he never talked about his feelings never the less declare his love or like for something. He glared playfully at her as she laughed and she tried her best to calm down, taking deep long breaths.

"I'm sorry, it's just you sounded so ridicules! But it was quite the speech, did you come up with it on your own?" He grinned, showing of his dimples, and leaned in closer and just as she thought he was about to kiss her he stopped and shock his head as his eyes looked down on her lips.

"Nah, I had help." He leaned over her so she had to lay on her back to be able to look at him. He towered over her with that stupid grin that told her he was up to something as he leaned on his arms to hold him up. She could feel the heat coming from his body and she almost moaned at the touch, she really did miss him more than she thought.  
>"So if you didn't come up with it then who did?" He planted kisses down her neck until he found her sweet spot where he nibbled slightly with his teeth, making her bite her lip to contain her moan, the sensation and heat that was building up in her stomach made her forget for a few seconds what she had asked him. And that's when the mood killer came. He lifted his head back up from her neck and met her eyes, still wearing that shit-eating grin.<p>

"Your brother!" She could feel how her eyes grew wide and if it wasn't for him pinning her down to the bed with his body weight she would've flown out of the bed like lightning. Her brother?! He had gone to her brother and talked about what he should do about her, was he crazy?! The grin was still present in his face and she knew it was because he was amused and enjoyed her reaction.

"Y-You went to my brother?! Why the hell would you go to my brother about this?!"

"Mostly because I knew it would piss you off and then because he walked in on me when I was frustrated and I just blurted it out, how I had me this chick and that my plan kind of back fired and I acted like a dick. So he told me to suck it up and go and apologize, so here I am. I'm sorry how I acted the other day, ay."

"It's okay." They just lay there quietly, enjoying being with each other again and every once in a while they would stroke the others cheek or touch them in some way as they looked in each other's eyes. Charlie was the one to break the silence.

"If I said I missed you, would you tease me for being a dork?"

"Are you kidding me, after what I just said?!" She laughed quietly and looked away from his face in slight embarrassment. "Well it's a good thing ay, cause I recon I've missed you too"

"What are we gonna do about it?"

"I can figure out a few things that doesn't require us to leave this bed." He had a big charming, boyish grin that could melt hearts on his face and she could feel how her resolve broke down as he leaned down to her face. When his lips touched hers she couldn't contain a moan from escaping her lips, the kiss was hard like he was trying to show her how much he missed her and feelings he couldn't put words on. It was bruising but it was perfect. His strong, work callused hands traveled down her side until it reached the hem of her silk sleepwear and slipped under the fabric to make contact with her bare skin, the touch was electric but just the feel of his strong touch on her skin made her feel safe and ready to let go.

She let her hands roam all over his body freely as his did on hers and before she knew it both of them were naked and all of their clothes were lying spread out over the floor. She felt as if her entire body was on flames, her breathing was ragged and her vision slightly blurry but she could still make out Brax's face and what expression he had. The emotions she felt inside was insane and intense, she felt as if she was about to explode, she didn't know if she was supposed to run away and hide or stay put.

When they both had found their relief and come down from their high they collapsed in a heap with silly looking smiles on their faces and for the first time in a really long time she felt happy and carefree without any worries at all. This was her fresh start.

Brax's pov

The morning after he had dreamt of sneaking into Charlie's bedroom to see her he woke up with a warm weight next to his body and a wonderful, familiar scent under his nose that almost drove him wild. He groaned and reluctantly opened his eyes only to see that the dream was not just a dream, it was reality and in his arms lay a naked Charlie fast asleep with a small smile on her face. He sure was one lucky bloke. He got so lost in his thoughts as he studied her face that he almost didn't notice her beginning to stir in her sleep. She moaned as she turned around and cuddled closer to his chest, he sensed her stiffen and then her blue eyes flew up in surprise, guess she was just as surprised as him to be waking up next to someone.

"Morning!" She relaxed back into his arms and her blue eyes traveled to met his and he could feel his chest tighten as a brilliant smile came across her face before she snuggled into the crock of his neck where she planted a kiss.

"This, I could get use to." Her fingers started to trace his _"__Blood and Sand__" _tattoo on his chest as he planted a kiss at the top of her head and he could only hum in agreement.

They lay like that in silence for almost an hour, sometimes they would talk a little about nothing but mostly they just lay there content with the silence and just holding each other. When the clock turned nine they could hear sounds coming from inside the house, indicating Ruby was up and that it was time to face the music. Either be turned down yet again and being forced to climb through the window or going through with the embarrassing task of meeting her as you were walking the walk of shame. He looked down at Charlie with hopeful eyes as he held his breath in waiting for her answer.

"So... how do you wanna do this? Do I get to take you out for breakfast or do I have to climb out the way I came?"

She closed her eyes for a few seconds and when she opened them she looked anywhere but him, making him feel nervous as hell. His pulse was fast and his heart was beating had, he was pretty sure she could hear how hard it was beating from where she was laying on his chest. He needed this in and who knows, maybe he can ball it around so that nobody ever finds out his double intentions.

"You can take me out to breakfast through the front door. But I swear to god that if this is just some kind or revenge for ditching you or some sick "all about the chase" sort of stuff you will regret it! I'm not your usual fuck'em and dump them."

"Yes ma'm!" He spun them around so that he was on top with her pinned down under him as he let his hands wonder over the curves of her body and planting butterfly kisses on her neck. "As much as I love you naked you better get dressed or I'm never going to be able to let you leave this room long enough to take you out for breakfast."

"Brax!" She laughed and playfully hit him on the arm before gently pushing him of her so that she could put on a short, blue silky robe that made him think that naked or clothed didn't matter, if he didn't get them out of there soon they would never leave. With a sigh he got up and got dressed as she went into the bathroom to freshen up. As she came out of there she was wearing grey suit pants and a royal blue top tugged in by the waist of the pants, he sighed at sight cause he knew that meant she had to go into work.

"How long do I have you for?"

"Actually not at all, I should've been at work two hours ago but I got a text from Jack saying he got me covered until lunch, he recon I need the sleep and I guess he was right, that was the first good nights sleep I have had in a while."

"You've not been sleeping either ay?"

"You're not good for me Mr. Braxton, yo screw up my mind and put me on edge." She slowly crossed the room and walked over to him with a sly smile on her face, like she was stalking her pray and when she had her arms around his neck the smile turned playful.

"Then I recon we're even cause you kinda mess with my head as well." He closed up the remaining space between them and crushed her lips with his, making the most of it since it had been over a week since he had done it last and he couldn't help but grin as he remembered that he was now allowed to do it all the time when he saw her.

Fifteen minutes later they had told Ruby who just laughed at them and said that she already knew and were just waiting for them to get their head out if their arses and stop being so stubborn, no censor just straight forward just like her mom. And not five minutes later they were out the door, walking down the beach towards the diner. He had a firm grip on her hand as they were talking and teasing as well trying to ignore the onlookers who's jaws were in the sand at the strange sight. He almost had to laugh at their faces and if it wasn't looks of surprise it was looks of jealousy either directed to him or Charlie. As they were outside the diner he took a deep breath and braced himself for what's to come cause he could guess it would be overwhelming wether they would accept it or detest it.

When they walked through the door the diner was in full swing, everyone that had to go to work stopped by before they had to go in to get a cup of coffee and everyone who didn't had decided to have their breakfast out in the nice weather, so no one noticed them as they walked in together and went to stand in line. He leaned himself against a pillar-wall and then pulled Charlie into his chest, he savoured the feeling of being able to claim her and honestly he didn't want to let go of her afraid she would change her mind. But she didn't seem to mind at all she just tilted her head back so she could rest against him and her hands came up to his and he couldn't help but smile. A gasp and a squeal brought them out of their conversation and their own little bubble, when he turned he around he saw the blonde woman, Bianca, that Heath had brought home a few times until she woke up and became the responsible school teacher that she was. The blonde had her hands on her hips and a smirk in her face that was in league with his own.

"Well, well, Charlie Holden you little liar, I knew you were holding out on me. Is this the reason you've been so distracted and hot strung the last couple of days, he's keeping you up at night?" He couldn't help but laugh at the balls of the blonde woman and Charlie grew red in the face in embarrassment for a flash of a second before she composed herself and glared at Bianca.

"Something like that." She muttered as she looked anywhere but at him and grinned knowing that he had her trapped and leverage. It was finally their turn and they were met by a kind-smiling Irene cause Bianca had dragged Leah away with her and Martha to gush and gossip about them. As Irene went to get their orders he hugged her a bit tighter to gain her attention and when she turned around and gave him a sweet smile that made him grin wider.

"So you've been thinking about me ha?"

"What ever gave you that idea?" she chuckled and turned attention once more on the busy people in the kitchen, slaving away for their breakfast.

"So what Bianca just said was nothing then? Or did I make it up."

"You have a very interesting mind Mr. Braxton." She might have denied it but the secretive smile told him everything he needed to now. He had gotten under her skin just as much as she had gotten under his.

CxB CxB CxB CxB CxB CxB

After they had had breakfast Jack had approached them to pick up Charlie and as soon as he had seen him coming he had come into a rush to get away, leaving Charlie to deal with Jack on her own. Jack might be his best friend and he might have pretended that he thought Charlie wouldn't give him the light of day when he had flirted with her in front of him, but he knew that once he found out it was serious he wasn't above kicking his arse.

But as soon as he had left Charlie to go to the restaurant the second problem that had been troubling him for the past couple days resurfaced. While he had been with Charlie his mind had been occupied and he had been totally oblivious to anything else but now the reality caught up with him. Heath was getting impatient, and he had been hassling both Kyle and Casey. Kyle had done as he had told him and not gotten involved but Casey on the other hand he was not so sure of, he was easier to manipulate then Kyle and Heath knew that and used it to his advantage, he knew that that was the only thing that could get a good reaction out of him. Heath's impatiens had resulted in messier and slobbery work, giving the cops more to work on and he had to do something or at least know what the cops were up to so he could fix it.

With a frustrated sigh he entered the surf club and nodded to John Palmer in greeting before climbing up the stairs to the restaurant where he found Kyle and two other guys running around, setting the tables for the first shift. Looking so there was nothing for him to do he grabbed the books and locked himself in his office with an excuse to Kyle that he was doing the payments and didn't want to be disturbed. Once he was sitting in his chair by his desk he threw the books and papers on his desk and slung his feet right in top of it. There was no way in hell he was going to be able to concentrate but he knew that he had to get them in order so that he could get the rest of the money in.

He checked his phone for probably the millionth time this morning to see if there where a message from Heath, he had called him several times to see if everything was going okay but not once had that boonhead picked up and it was getting more and more frustrated. Just as he was about to call again there was an instant knocking on the door and he growled frustrated for whomever it was on the other side to go away but knocking never ceased. He ripped open the door ready to chop someone's head of when he came face to face to a somewhat stressed Jack. Great, just what he needed his best friend going all protective big brother on him, that he already knew he were.

"I'm not here about Charlie, we'll talk about that later. Right now you might want to get down to the station." The way he said it made him assume the worst, Heath had gotten caught and were in a big mess and that's why he had not been returning his phone call.

"What the heck has he done now to land him trouble?" He sighed and ran a hand frustrated over his face.

"Oh, it's not Heath! Well not totally and I'm pretty sure that a won't bother you too much... It's Casey mate." At the sound of his brother's name his body went cold, Heath had managed to get him in anyway. If Jack hadn't been there he would have punched down the door or made a big hole in the wall. "He says he hasn't done anything but it doesn't look good for him mate. He was in a car that was stopped on the high road, it had a lot of dope in it and the despite that Casey might not have had anything to do with it the judge won't see it that way. He's a Riverboy's brother who has had some trouble with the police and he is now caught in car with drugs, it doesn't get much clearer than that to them."

He didn't need to hear more, he let Jack lead the way out of the surf club and then he followed him in the car all the way to the station. Once in the building the place was swarming with people, he recognised one of the boys sister, another once mother and in the corner on a bench sat Heath with his elbows on his knees. He walked up and sat down next to him, doing his best to contain his anger to get a better chance to get a straight answer out of Heath. As he sat down Heath looked up at him with a slightly embarrassed and ashamed expression on his face.

"What the hell happened mate?"

"The boys were on their way to meet Jake and on they drove by Case on his way to school so they offered him a lift, then just a minute later the pigs showed up and started to go through the truck. They found the stash an-"

He didn't get further cause they were interrupted by a lot of noise coming from the entrance, but he didn't need him to continue he knew exactly what was happening when he turned his head to the entrance and saw more blue collars bring more of the boys in. They cops were going nuclear, this were their first big break and opportunity to pin something to some of them and get some of them off the street. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Charlie in her blue top running in and out of rooms with files in her hands looking mildly stressed but still comfortable and in her ace.

He didn't know how long he sat there until he was approached and told that he was allowed to come through and see Casey, because he was eighteen he didn't get an adult present while they were talking so he had no idea how bad he was in. He got into the room to see Charlie sitting with her back towards him with the files in front of her as she was talking quietly to Casey and Casey seemed to be listening intensively.

"Do you hear what I'm saying Casey? You're a good kid, you've come a long way don't mess that up by trying to impress the wrong brother. You have two other brothers who you should impress... Plus you have Ruby and I know for a fact that she's really impressed and likes you a lot." His eyes flew up to meet hers and looked happy and generally surprised.

"Really?!" A warm smile graced Charlie's face as she tapped the locket that was hanging around her neck.

"I have a very good source kid! Now get out of my interrogation room and don't let me see you here again!"

He nodded and almost jumped out of the chair and grabbed him on the way out, he barley managed to flash Charlie a grateful smile over his shoulder until Casey had pulled him out the door and the station. Once back at Angelo's he sent Casey in to help Kyle since he had already missed half the day at school, while he himself locked himself in the office again. He sat down in his chair again and propped up his feet before he dialled a familiar number and leaned back as he waited for the person on the other end to pick up.

"Charlie Holden!" Her soft voice rang in his ear and he found himself smiling like a goof.

"Thank you detective!"

"You're very welcome Mr. Braxton! But he was never in any real trouble, the guys in the car was very adamant that Casey had nothing to do with it, I don't know if it's you or Heath they're scared of but it sure worked."

"Yeah well what you said kept him grinning all the way back, he didn't even complain when I put him to work." He heard her laugh and it made something stir inside of him. "Nah but thank you though, for what you said to Casey! Heath has been trying to get to Kyle and Casey for a while, Kyle can take it and stand up to him but Casey... He's too soft. But I don't want that life for him but he wouldn't listen to me, but I think today really got to him, he needed to hear that someone else, beside his nagging brother, believe in him"

"You've done great with him Brax, he's a great kid that's right now just a tad unsure of what he can accomplish, he knows that he doesn't need to become Heath but at the same time Heath's trying to tell him otherwise. You just gotta keep nagging and he needs some kind of wake up call." He felt himself getting reassured by her words, she sounded so sure about what she was saying he couldn't do anything else then believe her.

"Speaking from experience are we?"

"I haven't always been a kick-ass cop, you know." Her laugh ringing through the phone.

"Oh don't I know it, no one can be that much of a bad ass by being a saint in her past life."

Charlie's pov

The sun was on its way down and her shift was finally over after a long day, all day she had been run of her feet. As soon as she got in two constable came into the station with the two Riverboys and Casey in tow, and from that moment on she had been running back and forth between her office and interrogation room to get papers and then more papers... She barley had time to take a break to get something to eat, they had been trying everything and reading through everything several times to get more evidence and patterns that could lead them somewhere, and it looks like it was paying of because their work got more slobbery then before and they were getting reckless.

So now she was finally going home, or home to her dad's. She hadn't hung out with him in ages and she kind of missed him so when he had asked her over for dinner there was no way she was going to say no. He was the best cook she knew, when she was younger it was her dad that cooked cause her mom couldn't even boil water, Martha and Georgia was lucky cause both Jack and Pete could cook. She however got her mother's genes on that one, she could make a few things she had to learn, other then that she was useless in the kitchen something they would always laugh about.

She parked the car and as soon as she got out of it she could smell the food and hear the music coming from the open windows and she could feel her mouth water, she was starving and she hadn't eaten proper food in days. As she walked up to the house she castes a quick glance next door where she could see Brax's car standing in the driveway and she couldn't stop the smile forming on her face. It felt surreal that he was now her... What? Her boyfriend? Maybe, but she just couldn't fit Brax and the word boyfriend together... It didn't seem macho enough for him... At least it was an upgrade from an extremely hot guy she was attracted to and slept with every now and then. It had felt so good to wake up with him and be able to go with him to the diner and not have to hide the fact that she didn't like him and wanted more. And the way he had held on to her possessively the whole time had made her cheeks hurt from smiling to much.

With a last look and a shake of the head she continued up towards the house, knowing she would be next door after dinner anyway if she was gonna take Brax's threat serious, that if she didn't come he would come next doors and drag her away. Opening the door and stepping inside she could hear voices over the music and slamming in the kitchen. At the yet to be set table sat Ruby doing her homework with earphones in to bloke out Beth and dad's music, which she couldn't blame her for it was really bad. She walked over to Ruby and planted a kiss on top of her head before proceeding into the kitchen where dad and Beth was joking around totally oblivious to the fact that someone just walked through their front door.

"You guys are lucky my profession is being a cop and not a burglar cause if it wasn't you wouldn't know what had hit ya!" Her father chuckled and put down the things he had in his hands to give her a hard hug and a kiss on her temple.

"Hi sweetie!"

"Hi!" She looked around the kitchen and almost laughed at all the food, there was enough food to feet an whole army. "What's with all the food? I might be starving for real food but I won't be able to eat that much!"

Beth laughed at her and turned he attention back to the pots that were placed on the stove. "We invited your brothers and Mattie, and with Mattie comes Ric, Alf, Roo and Romeo. Plus I think Rubes invited Casey too. So we set the table in the garden so your dad can keep the grill at the same time."

And at that she couldn't help but smile, she should've known. Never is a dinner at her father's place a small one, there's always extra people but that just makes it so much more fun. Knowing that she was happy that she didn't have to go in to work until the night shift, leaving her with a whole morning to sleep in after the night she was gonna have, cause they never rapped up early.

"You could invite Brax if you want to. I was kinda counting on it." Her father looked at her with an amused smirk on his face and she could feel her cheeks heating up, probably red as the tomatoes Beth was chopping up.

"So you heard about that ay? Should've known Ruby or Jack would tell ya, at least Pete knows how to keep his mouth shut."

"Oh they weren't the first to tell us, I found out from Alf this morning when I was opening the gym, he had heard it down the baitshop and Martha was quick on confirming it and Beth, she found out from Colleen this morning."

"I should've known I would become town gossip, don't they have anything better to do?" She groaned and buried her face in her father's side.

The dinner was fun, despite the fact that Brax didn't show despite her inviting him cause he had to go into work and fix a few things. Ruby, Casey and Romeo had their fun until uped and leaved, her dad, Beth, Alf and Roo talked about theirs, she was questioned about Brax by Martha, Mattie and Georgia that soon enough Roo and Beth joined in on. Jack, Pete and Rick talked about sport trying to seem uninterested in their conversation but she could see how they would listen intensely at times.

Now she was on her way around the back of Brax's house, why she had no idea, she just got a text from Brax saying to go to the back and he would have opened up for them. But when she got there the only thing that was opened was his bedroom window. Wait... Was he serious?! He wanted her to climb through the window as well? She walked up to it and peeked inside and there he was, laying on the bed that was facing the window with a smirk in his face.

"You're serious?! I thought we were over the whole window and sneaking in thing?"

"See I knew you would catch on, mo wonder you're a cop. And yes we are but I thought it would be fun to relive last night, plus I kinda forbid Kyle to have Tamara over because then they would never leave the house tomorrow and I kinda don't want them here, cause I got other plans." His smirk grew wider and more wicked if that was even possible.

"Is that so yeah?" He nodded and got out of the bed and looked at her pointedly, willing her to climb in so with a sigh and with as much dignity as possible she climbed in through the window quite gracefully. As both her feet touched the ground he was next to her in a flash and scooped her up and dropped unmercifully on the bed, making her bounce a little before he pinned her down with his body, his smirk not flattering one bit as he hovered over her and leered down.

"I believe I still haven't thanked you probably for what happened today."

"Is that so ay?" She brought her hand up and cupped his left cheek making him winch and pull away slightly. "Are you okay Brax, are you hurt?"

"I had a run in with Heath this evening and it turns out he's not to happy about me seeing a cop, let alone having you around the house. But don't worry about it, he's just whining he'll get over it soon enough." She nodded slightly but she still felt slightly guilt for causing trouble for Brax with his family. And as if he could read her thoughts he narrowed his eyes on her and then dove in and captured he lips in the most mind blowing kiss, making her forget all about Heath and everything else that swarmed around in her head and get totally lost in the heat of the moment.

**Hope you guys liked it! Sorry it took so long but it's slightly longer than the other once so I hope it's okay! Will try and update soon but I have a lot of assignment that's due at school so we'll see how much I can do! Until next time! **

**Xx Lexie **


	8. Chapter 7 - White as a ghost

Chapter 7 - White as a ghost

Charlie's pov

She walked through the hospital corridors with a somber feeling that was displayed on her face. This had been one hell of a nightshift. In the early hours of the morning she had been called out to a house where a party had been held just a few hours earlier. When she had arrived at the house she was met by five messed up teenagers, the girls make-up had run down their faces and the guys hair stood in every direction as if someone had run their hand through it too many times. Once she got inside a funky smell was brought to her nose, it was a mix between warm beer and something else. As she walked ino the livingroom she was met by a sight that almost brought tears to her eyes but she managed to contain herself. On the couch lay two girls totally out of it and on the floor below them lay a boy. You only had to take one look at them to know they were dead. Their eyes were wide open, it almost looked as if they were pleading for help.

After looking through the rest of the house to make sure there were no more she got the kids outside and called for backup. Soon the entire place was lit up and filled with people, it didn't take long until she was following the ambos to the hospital o wait for the doctors verdict. And after three coups of bad hospital coffee the bloodtests came back and confirmed their was the same thing that had caused several other kids in the area to die the last couple of weeks. So now she was on her way out to the waiting room to tell the parents the bad news of what happened to their kids and to hear the usual reactions. Some would say that that didn't sound like their kid and that she was lying, some would just cry and accept it while others would get angry and scream at her and walk away.

And as if that wasn't enough, her bosses were pestering her to make a break-through. But whoever was behind it was cleaver and barley left any traces, the only thing they could tell was that it was the same drugs that caused it, so it had to be the same people. Sure they had their suspicions and somethings that led them to believe that it was either the Riverboys or Jake Pirovic's gang, it was common knowledge but they couldn't prove it or get anything solid. So all they could do was pressure them and hope they would eventually slip up.

As she walked through the backdoor she almost ran into Ruby who was running around the house collecting her things for school.

"Hi Baby!"

"Hi mom! Are you okay?" She kicked if her workheels and threw them into her room through her open bedroom were her bed was visible and teasing her.

"Rough night is all, a couple of kids OD again... Not the easiest to deal with at the end of a long nightshift. So how are you? Everything under control right?" Ruby rolled her eyes at her and gave her a kiss on the cheek."

"I'm fine mom, now go to sleep you have the whole house to yourself all day cause we have a field-trip."

"Okay, I'm off tomorrow so how about you skip school and we hang out, just you and me?"

"I'd love that! But I can't believe that you're suggesting that I skip school?" Her face had an amused expression, almost mocking, making Charlie swat her on the arm with the back of her hand lightly.

"Don't get used to it Brat, I just miss you!" She had to stifle a yawn but without luck, giving Ruby the hint that right now was not the time to discus things with her mother.

"Go to sleep that's an order and don't make me call Pete!"

With another kiss to her cheek Ruby picked up her bag and walked out the door. Doing what Ruby told her to do was really tempting but her stomach was screaming for food. So she walked into her room and changed out of her work-clothes to a pair of black tights and a teal blouse with thin straps that hung loosely around her body. pulling out the rubber-band that held up her hair in a ponytail and sticking her feet in a pair of flopps she was ready to go.

Lucky for her as she arrived at the Diner she had just missed the morning rush so she didn't have to push around with the others. She found a table in the far corner of the room where she was a little sheltered from the rest which worked perfectly with her.

"Hi Charlie, what can I get ya?" She looked up from her paper and found Roo standing next to her with a smile and a notepad in hand.

"A coffee, fruitsalad and a muffin."

"Are you okay? You look worn."

"I'm fine, just got of work that's all."

She nodded her head and offered a smile before she left her to her paper. But she found that she couldn't concentrate on any of the words. So instead she closed it and leaned her forehead in the palm of her hand and closed her eyes again. The next tom she felt someones presence she also felt two strong hands squeezing her shoulders and then a kiss was planted on her temple.

"Hey Beautiful, why are you here?" She looked up and was met by those grey eyes that could drive her to the brink of insanity. She sent him a cheeky smile before turning to Roo who brought over her breakfast.

"Well a girl has to eat and I certainly wasn't gonna cook."

"You could've come up to me."

"Well you don't serve breakfast,now do you?" He placed on of his hands on the back of her chair and the other in front of her on the table, caging her in and leaned in closer with a daring smirk on his face.

"So...? I think I could've made an exception for my gorgeous girlfriend, plus it would've meant I got to see you and experience your exceptional wit."

"My, my aren't we charming this morning!" He frowned, his eyes watched her face intensely and his face turned troubled.

"Well I'm afraid this isn't gonna sound quite as charming but you look like shit babe." She groaned and threw her head back in exasperation.

"God, you're like he millionth person who's told me that!"

"Well maybe you should listen to them. I heard on the news, I'm sorry. Your bosses can't be happy."

"That's the understatement of the century." She looked down and started to pick on her fruit, avoiding his gaze. she heard him sigh then his hands grabbed hers to make her stop and then he pulled her out off her chair and into his arms.

"Come on, I'm taking you home. No arguments."

When they got home to her empty house he crawled into bed with he, lying on his side, running his fingers up and down her back as she lay on her stomach with her head on the pillow turned towards him. They lay content in silence, just watching each other and enjoying their time together. Despite her insisting that he should go back to work and that he didn't have to stay with her he refused, and despite him telling her to go to sleep she was still awake.

She was still overwhelmed with emotions that she couldn't describe. Had it been a few months earlier she would've probably freaked out and run miles but now... how she felt happy and incredibly warm and safe, suddenly the prospect of falling for Brax wasn't so scary anymore. She decided right there and then that she would just go with it, this feeling was worth taking a risk.

But despite her great effort to stay awake her exhaustion got the upper hand and the strokes on her back lulled her to sleep. But she woke up a few hours later by the be moving under her, caused by Brax crawling out of the bed.

"Hey, sneaking out on me are you?"

Her voice was laced with sleep and her eyes were only cracks but she could still make out him in the darkness of her bedroom. He laughed at her and leaned down and kissed her.

"No, but I need to get back to the restaurant and let in all the hungry lunchers and you needed your sleep. So go back to sleep and come se me tonight."

"Noway, I'm up now. I'm awake." She sat up straight in the bed and leaned against the headboard while smiling at him as he walked over to her side of the bed.

"Go to sleep you stubborn woman, I don't want you to run into the ground before I get to take you out on a proper date."

"Wow, who new the though guy was actually a real softy and romantic? Plus if I go to sleep again I won't be able to sleep tonight and get back into a normal rhythm."

"Oh yeah, I'm a real teddybear. Okay fine, but then I get to treat you tonight."

"You're impossible, don't you have work or something?" He grinned at her cheekily and leaned down with his hands on the bed on either side of her, making her feel his hot breath on her face and butterflies erupted in her stomach.

"I do, but Kyle wanted extra shifts so that he can go on some roadtrip with his friends so who am I to complain when I get the night off?"

"Fine I'll meet ya when you get off!"

"Perfect!" His lips touched hers in a short but hard kiss that took her breath away before he got up and left the room, leaving her behind slightly breathless and a grin on her

Brax's pov

As soon as he left Charlie's place and gotten into his car he pulled up his phone and dialled Heath's number and as usual the idiot didn't pick up until he had tried three times and wouldn't listen to a word he had to say. They had gotten lucky last time when they cops and stopped the car Casey had been in, it was pure dum luck that that was the last set of those drugs they had in store and that it was not the same stuff that all teenagers had OD on. He wasn't stupid, it was their stuff, the kids had come from their area and not Pirovic's, and now they had the coppers really on their arses, they wouldn't give up until they had something if the pressure Charlie was under from her bosses was any indication.

He drove home once he found out that it was there Heath were and knowing that Casey and Kyle was out. Once he got there he stormed into the house and slammed the front door behind him, startling Heath that was laying on the couch watching football and he couldn't help himself from smacking him on the back of the head.

"What the hell is your problem man?"

"My problem? My problem is that you're laying her on your lazy as when you should be out making sure that the boys don't screw up like you're supposed to!" He went into the kitchen and grabbed a bear from the fridge, despite the fact the it had just reach noon. "The cops is all over this, all the kids that has OD has made the cops more determined to find something to pin on us, you saw what happened last week, they stopped the boys just to see if they could get something and they did. We need to lay low."

Heath glared at him, his anger already skyhigh because of his short temper, Brax had not only complained about him he had also tried to tell him what to do and that was just something you didn't do to Heath. He was like a teenager, if he didn't want the same thing he never did as he was told then he always did the exact opposite. The look in his eyes could kill and he was close to snapping.

"What? Where did you get all this, your pig-girlfriend?"

"Get off it Heath, I'm doing it to save your ass! So we're keeping it low-key until I say anything else cause I sure as hell has no intention on going to jail, and that's what's going to happen if we don't do something. So we stay low, do you get that?" Heath nodded but still had a grim look on his face as he got off the sofa and walked out of the house, grabbing his board on the way out.

Brax put his bear down as a sigh of frustration escaped his lips, he ran a hand down his face and just stared at the wall in front of him. He knew there was noway in hell he was going to be able to keep Heath inline, he would rebel and until he himself got caught he wouldn't stop and that was what scared him. Heath getting caught could lead to so many things that he had no idea how he was going to get them out of, if Heath got caught the chance that they all would go down was pretty big.

As he was thinking about consequences of what might happen his mind drifted of to Charlie, which he noticed he had done a lot lately, people had been talking to him and she would walk by and he was gone. He was getting more and more worried about how she would react and how it would effect them if she found out about him, his guesses and nightmares weren't that pretty, he knew he was screwed and that they would be over if that ever happened. Even if he had come to terms with his feelings for her and that it wasn't good for him to get attached, which he ignored, he couldn't help but feel a tiny bit scared for what he was feeling.

It was intense and the more time that past the more he knew that he would break if it didn't work out between them, he was taking a huge gamble her with a lot at stake. It was a gamble that he would lose either way, either he would lose the family he had since he was a kid or, despite sounding cheesy, he would lose his heart, there was noway he could win. But at this point his heart was weighing a little heavier then his family and that was what freaked him out. He was scared what he would do if it stood between choosing the guys or Charlie. He was doing everything he could to cover their asses, he was telling himself that it was for the boys sake they were laying low but the truth it was to make sure Charlie never found out.

After bumming around the house for a while he finally went to work as he was supposed to, but there he wasn't much help. He was distracted and not really there, he went on autopilot and not really registering what anyone told him. All he could think about was a way to stop Heath and trying to stay out of jail but it was proving rather difficult. So instead of running around and getting in the way of people he took a break and went down stairs to the gym where he had seen Jack enter earlier, he found him by the punching-bag punching it with a great enthusiasm, he looked more distraught then he felt.

"Mate, what's wrong with you?"

He sighed and stopped the punching and started to fix with his gloves without looking at him.

"Me and Martha had a fight so I came here to blow off some steam so I can go and talk to her without saying something I will regret later." At that Brax couldn't help but chuckle, Jack and Martha always had some quarrels but it got solved just as quickly as it started. Sometime he envied how easy some people had it, like now, he would do anything to just be fighting with his girlfriend or whatever instead of having to deal with life and death matters.

"So what's up with you, cause I'm pretty sure you didn't come here to make sure I was alright."

"Nah, just a lot going around and it's doing my head in."

"Yeah, like what?" He picked up his water bottle and towel and moved over to one of the machines making Brax follow him over.

"What do you think? Heath, he keeps getting into trouble and I'm having a hard time keeping Case out of it, at the same time as I try to keep Heath in line but he has a mind of his own."

"Yeah, siblings can be difficult. Heck living with Pete and Charles for most of my life have given me some experience and then Beth's kids at that, there's always some drama going around."

"Yeah..."

He just stood there in silence not really watching Jack, but just stared blank in front of him until he heard some sort of commotion by the entrance and through the archway came Charlie with tears streaming down her face and a terrified look in her eyes, she looked scared to death. He was just about to push off the wall and go over to her went she. Let out a sob that made his chest tighten.

"Dad!" She looked franticly around her in search of Tony who came rushing out of his office as he had heard her calling for him, and as soon as he saw her it was like he understood the only reason that could've caused that look in Charlie's eyes that he had never seen before. Within a second she was sobbing in her dad's embrace and Jack was soon there too, having a silent conversation with their dad and he was soon running out the door with Brax on his tail. As they got out of the surf club Jack looked around as if he was looking for someone and not really sure whee to begin or what he would do exactly once he found them.

"Mate what's going on?!" Jack looked as if he could kill someone and he wouldn't stop looking around him as he answered.

"I'm not sure but I'm sure as hell going to find out." And that's when Jack froze and his eyes zeroed in on a woman who stood leaning against the fence looking out over the ocean, he strode over there with long, determined steps. As he reached the woman he grabbed her arm and spun her around, startling her but she soon recover and got a malicious smirk on her face.

"What the hell are you playing at?! You. Stay. Away. From. Her. Got it? You and your husband has caused enough damage already and soon enough your husband will be out away for life and out of ours, and I suggest you do the same before I do something you will regret." Not once during Jack's threat did her smirk falter it was almost as if it grew for every word he said. He himself, who he counted as a bad as there weren't a lot that scared him but the look on Jack's face and the tone in his voice sent shivers up his spine and he was happy that the anger wasn't aimed towards him.

"Are you threatening me sergeant?" She took a step forward so that where only a few centimetres between them. She had a wedding-ring on her finger and she looked to be between thirty and forty, damn he had never seen someone that "old" with as much brass at she had, even less so a chick.

"Damn straight I am. And don't think I won't go through with it! You threaten my family, my sister then there's no limit of what I would go through and it would be wise for you to remember that I have a better position then you do right now!"

"Whatever you say Holden. You tell Charlie that this isn't over, we won't give up. Her lies are not going to define the rest of ours and our kids life." And with that she picked up her bag from the ground and brushed past him. Jack threw a punch in the air and leaned over the French with his head in his hands trying to calm his breathing. He walked up next to him and leaned on the fence to and just standing there in silence for a few seconds before he dared to speak.

"What the hell is going on and who is that chick?"

"A ghost from the past who we thought we had gotten rid of for good but it seems as if they haven't ruined our family enough..." He straightened up and turned his face to him and he could see the same pained and hunted look in his eyes that he had seen in Charlie's just moments before. "That woman is Mellie Grant and her husband is Ruby's father, we thought we had seen the last of him 18 years ago when he disappeared but for about almost a year one he showed up again out of nowhere and stirred problem for Charlie and Rubes once again, Charlie hasn't been the same since."

Charlie's pov

After Brax had left she had laid in bed not really doing anything for almost a good hour, she just lay there and looked out the window dreaming away and whatever it was that she was thinking of graced her face with a warm smile. But after a while she decided to get out of bed and get something to eat before going out for a surf, considering that she didn't get to eat much of her breakfast this morning. After finding something quick to eat in the fridge she changed and of she went, the waves looked great and very promising so without further ado she pulled of her dress and ran out to the water with he board under her arm.

Every once in a while she would just sit on her board and float around for a few minutes as she watched all the other people on the beach. It wasn't too crowded considering it was a week-day and everyone was at school or work but there was still a crowed of people who wee lucky enough to get the day off. She could see school kids coming out of the diner in groups with their bag packs on as they were on their way back to school after having lunch, moms running around after small kids that were running in and out of the water and up and down the beach, it was just a normal day in Summer bay and normal was just what she needed. After what she believed must be over an hour she caught one last wave and rode it into shore were she dug the nose of the board in the sand and started to dry of with her towel.

"Living the life and enjoying ourselves are we?"

The familiar drawl of a voice came from behind her and her blood turned ice-cold and she froze to the spot. That was one of the many voice that had shunted her for almost a year now and it was one of the reasons she took of for six months to travel the world and leave her daughter behind. She hugged the towel close to her chest like a safety blanket and slowly turned around to the person the voice belonged to.

"Mellie" it came out as a breath that caught in her throat, it was even more scarier to face her then to just hear her voice. Mellie's face was a picture perfect of a mix of hate and vengeance, and she feared that it was all directed to her. "Wha- what are you doing here?"

A sneer formed on Mellie's face as she took two steps closer towards her making Charlie shrug back a little, which made Mellie smirk knowing that she was scared.

"I'm here to make you see sense and make you drop your silly accusations so that my husband can come back home it his kids."

"Are you out of your mind?! He got away eighteen years ago but not this time around, I handled it back then cause it was just me he attacked but this time he interfered with my daughter and that is something I won't let him do ever again."

Mellie let out a loud laugh but it wasn't a happy or this was funny laugh, it was malicious and it scared the crisp out of her, making her take a step back.

"You seem to forget that she is his daughter too and that he have every right-"

"HE HAS NO RIGHT!" The anger flared up in her within the second, mention Grant and Ruby and saying that they had some sort of relationship or trying it justify what he did was the inky thing that could make her see red. "He hurt me and then wouldn't acknowledge me or her once she was born, so he has no right what so ever to come into our life now trying to be a "parent" so that he can get to us! There's no way in hell I'm letting either of near my daughter!"

"Of course he wouldn't acknowledge you he was just fifteen and scared that his girlfriend was pregnant he didn't have a choice but he came back trying to justify it and you sent him of to prison with your lies!"

"I had just turned fourteen and he forced himself on me because I weren't ready, he would've done the exact same thing to you if you had refused him! And he came back with a gun threatening both me and my daughter, of course I sent him of to jail! I was fourteen and in love and so, so utterly stupid, I trusted him and he took advantage of that"

"He didn't do anything you stupid Bint!" Her face was filled with pure rage and she stood so close that their noses almost touched each other and she could feel her breath panting on her face. "He's going to jail because of your lies, I lost my husband and my children lost their father. And it's all your fault! So don't you dare think it's over!" With that she turned around and stalked up the beach and as soon as she was out of sight Charlie felt all the walls and all the facade she had out up in front of Mellie coming crumpling down.

She quickly rummaged through her bag until she found her phone and quickly dialled Pete's number while breathing heavily as she could feel the sonic rising within her.

"Pete it's me, I need you to go and pick up Ruby!... I can't explain right now just do it!"

As soon as she hung up she brought a hand up to her mouth to cover a heartbreaking sob that came from deep within. She couldn't think clearly all she wanted was to see her dad so she pulled on her dress and ran up the beach and into the surf club as the tears kept streaming down her face and her breathing ragged. As soon as she entered the gym she called out for her dad, she didn't even register anyone else in the gym, all that excited to her was the fear that was eating her up from the inside and the need to be comforted by her dad and feel safe. He came out of nowhere and as soon as their eyes met she was in his arms crying her heart out as he stroked her hair. She could feel someone else coming up behind her and distant voices, soon their was a lot of rustling and steps that were growing fainter and fainter.

Once she calmed down she came up from her father's chest and dried the remaining tears on her face and took a deep breath before turning to meet her father's gaze.

"It's never gonna be over is it? I thought, I thought it was all over and done with when they finally caught him and I saw them haul him inside that cop car. I thought I could move on with my life and be happy now that he was out of it, but somehow he still manages to find a way to get to me!"

"I know sweetheart but he's not going to get to you this time, I won't let him break you. He has hurt my family for the last time, I swear to you!" His eyes was gentle but his voice was stern and determined, making her feel protected and believe every word of it.

They were woken up from their little world by Charlie's cellphone ringtone coming from her bag. "Hello?"

"Mom! What's going on?! Pete showed up at aquarium saying that you had called him to pick me up?"

"Baby listen to me! You go with Pete and stay there till I come and get you okay? I promise I will explain everything then but just please do as Pete says!" Ruby most have heard the desperation in her voice cause her voice softened and only said okay.

"Are you okay mom?" Her voice was small as she spoke after a few seconds of silence.

"Yeah, of course! I'll see you soon yeah?" And with that's she hung up and sat down on one of the empty machines and buried her face in her hands.

**This was originally supposed to be longer but I figured since I haven't updated in a while I could just make it into to two separate chapters instead. Hope you guys liked it, I will try and finish the second part soon enough, maybe even before this weekend ends who knows? Please, let me know what you guys think! Xx Lexie **


	9. Chapter 8 - Deft ears

Chapter 8 – Talking to deft ears

After Jack had breathed for a while and calmed down they went back inside the gym and found Charlie sitting on one of the machines and Tony standing a few meters away looking hopeless. Tony's eyes were focused on Charlie all the time and the look on his face clearly stated that he didn't know what to do, he knew that feeling very well. He wanted to run over there and hug her or something but he weren't too sure if that would go down so well. But before he could dwell on it for too long Jack had kneeled before her and gathered her in his arms, she clung to his shirt and held on for dear life. He could hear them talking in quite voices but he couldn't make out what they were saying, he could see her nodding though before she pulled away and stood up. As she picked up her bag and walked past him he sent a questioning glance at Jack who sent him a weak smile.

"Can you follow her back to dad's mate? We're just gonna close up here first."

"Sure"

He rushed out of the gym after her and once outside he spotted her standing, looking out over the ocean, appearing a little lost. This time he didn't think twice about it he just walked up to her and embraced her from behind and planted a kiss on top of her head. "Let's go home ay?"

She nodded and let him take her hand and lead her away. They walked in silence all the way home and once she unlocked the door she just sat down on the couch and pulled her legs under him and just stared at the black TV-screen. He didn't feel like pushing her as he could how the wheels were turning in her head, so he just sat down next to her on the couch and let her curl up to him. They just sat there, him stroking her hair and placing a kiss on her hairline every once in a while and she was tracing patterns on his chest, it had become some sort of a ritual with them when they were relaxing together. But their time together was interrupted by the entire Holden clan making their way through the door. As soon as Charlie spotted Ruby she rushed out of the couch and embraced her in a flash. Her embrace was desperate and she wouldn't let go, like she was afraid she would disappear if she did. Ruby was hugging her just as tight and the sobs escaping her mouth was heartbreaking even for him. But at the same time it confused the hell out of him, he know had an even less idea of what was going on and he didn't like it one bit. He was used to being in control, knowing everything and always being one step ahead, the man in the shadows and all that. But this time he didn't and for every second that passed it grew bigger and bigger, and it had to be really bad to scare an entire family like this had.

They spent the rest of the day at Tony's with Beth and Tony in the kitchen while Charlie sat on the couch with Ruby's head in her lap and stroked it absentmindedly. Jack and Peter was sitting at the table with Martha and talking in low voices but intense gestures while he was sitting in one of the armchairs and surveying the entire scene. The only time they broke the pattern was for food but eventually Ruby had fallen asleep in Charlie's lap and the others went home after convincing Charlie to let Ruby stay put and sleep at Tony's and just go home.

He followed her home again cause he didn't want to let her out of his sight. It was deadly quite this time around too, the only sounds was their feet hitting the pavement and later on the rattling of keys unlocking the door. He followed her inside the house and sat down in the chair across from her by the round table, the silence was still there as they just sat there and watched each other for several minutes until he cracked. "So are you going to tell me what the hell is going on? Who's that Mellie-woman?"

She stubbornly looked down at the table, her jaw clenched in refusal to talk and he had to do everything he could to stop himself from grabbing her and shake her hand until she would spill. He was a man if power and strong will who didn't do well with being kept in the dark, he was used to being in charge, controlling things and being the man behind the scenes so this was all new to him. But him keeping his mouth shut actually helped, finally she looked up from the table and met his eyes. "Mellie is Grant's wife."

"And who's Grant?" She swallowed hard and he couldn't sworn she looked terrified for a second but it was gone before he could think too much about it.

"Grant is Ruby's biological father."  
>"I take it he isn't in the picture… Has he ever?"<br>"No he hasn't." She grew quite once more but there was more to the story and he wouldn't let it go.

"There's more to the story here aren't there? So are you going to tell me or do I have to find out myself, either way I'm gonna find out." He was surprised that he managed to control his rage and keep it out of his voice as he spoke. He was frustrated, concerned and being kept in the dark and that wasn't a good combo. "Come on Charlie, tell me!"

She took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts and then met his gaze and there was now a hard wall in her eyes that were meant to keep him out. "After I lost my mom I was a little bit… I don't know, I guess lost? Dad, Jack and Pete were hovering me cause I was their little girl and because I was upset I rebelled. I was fourteen and there was this guy Grant in my year, he was the popular, good looking kid that every girl wanted and every guy wanted to be." He was gonna through in some witty remark about God himself but the grave expression on her face and the steel in her voice stopped him. This was not a good time for jokes.

"I was always the good girl when I was younger. I wasn't an outcast or anything I just never partied or let lose like everyone else and with mom being a cop and two overprotective brothers, I was never a guy's first choice." He looked at her disbelievingly and shook her head. There was no way any of those guys was stupid enough to not want her but he didn't say anything and let her carry on. "So when Grant showed an interest in me, and showed me how to have a good time and made me forget about my problems, I fell fast and hard. Or at least I thought I did. At first he was so sweet and kind. He stood up for me, never forcing me to do things, he won over dad and my brothers and I trusted him with everything." She didn't have this dreamy look that you usually had when you talked about the past and young love, somewhere he figured this was not the normal teenage pregnancy were the guy runs off and wants nothing to do with it. It couldn't be, not when the new wife shows up and everyone freaks out. He was sitting on edge waiting for her to confirm his suspicions.

"One night he had dragged me to a party and we were alone in a room kissing and touching, nothing we hadn't done before. But then he started to go further and he was my first boyfriend, I was just getting used to touching so I freaked out. All the other times I said no he stopped but this time…" She choked on her words and he didn't need her to go on. He had hurt her, she had only him that she trusted and he had broken that. No wonder she kept mile high walls around her.

"He started licking my face and neck… t-taking of my clothes and then… God Brax it hurt, it hurt so much!" Her voice was relatively steady but silent tears streamed down her face and he was with her in a second, holding her tight in his arms. He was so unbelievable angry. Someone had hurt the woman… the woman he what? Cared for? Loved? Yeah right. His inside was a mess, he was struggling with his emotions. One part of him want to hold her and never let go to protect her, while another part of him wants to push her away and run in the opposite direction before he gets too sucked in. But he stayed put, not being able to move.

"What happened then? To him, did he get away with it?" She nodded into his shoulder and his hands clenched into fists on her back.

"We reported it and people knew that he had done it, they found me afterwards, but there wasn't any witnesses just his words against mine and his dad was high up in the council so he made some kind of deal for him. He had to change schools though so they moved away and that was that."

"Then why is his wife here now, after all this time?"

"He knew that I was pregnant cause he didn't move away until a few months after the party, but now he claims he didn't. Her voice had found his strength again but she stayed put in his embrace and leant her head on his shoulder. "When Ruby was 16 she got curious about her father so I gave her the short version that he moved before she was born and that I never heard from him again. I thought she seemed happy with that but she went out, looking for him. He of course claimed he didn't know about it and so on, so she came back furious with me." He could tell by her stiff body and her hardening voice that it was still angering her to no end that Grant had interfered with Ruby.

"He showed up a couple of months later, playing the innocent card in front of Ruby by telling me off for not saying anything about her to him. I was scared and upset so I told Ruby what he did but he played it off that girls always says no and that it was a misunderstanding and she believed him. But I wouldn't give up and every time we had a confrontation I could see that maniac glint in his eyes that he had that night, then I knew that he knew exactly what he had done." A shiver ran through her body and he himself could only picture a madman in front of him. "Then one night he got me when I was alone by the beach, he had that same scary look in his eyes and there was no doubt what he was about to do. He had me pinned down in the sand but luckily Dan came by and soon enough he was in a four by four cell at the station." She broke out of his embrace and went to the kitchen where she poured herself a glass of wine and jumped up on the counter. He stood in the doorway on a distance letting her calm down, he could see how worked up she got by only thinking about it.

"The trip around the world wasn't work at all right?" She took a sip and shook her head, still looking out the window.  
>"No. After two weeks of constant sleepless nights I decided to do it, a week after that every place I had ever wanted to go was booked and sic days later I was sitting on a plane to Hong-Kong. Six months later I got to the city and met this though, arrogant, incredible sexy man in a nightclub and that was that."<p>

He saw what she was trying to do but he wouldn't let her talk him off, he still didn't know why she had freaked out earlier today. He walked up towards her and grabbed her chin, forcing her to face him.  
>"If he's gone, why on earth is his wife here now threatening both you and Jack?!"<p>

"The trial is next month. She wants me to withdraw my statement so he can get off, he has her convinced he didn't do anything and we are all lying." He looked into her eyes and he couldn't take it anymore, he moved his hand to the back of her neck and pulled her to him in a passionate kiss which intention was to make her forget. When they broke free in need of air she stroked his cheek and smiled a smile for the first time today that reached her eyes.

"Thank you for today! You didn't have to stay around for all the crazy." He looked at her in astonishment before glaring at her, refusing to let her gaze waver from his.

"I could kill him right now for what he has done to you, and have you forgotten who my family is? Crazy is my middle name." She gave him a heartwarming smile that made it all worth it. He took the glass of wine out of her hands before picking her up from the counter and carrying her into her bedroom without breaking their intense gaze. He was gonna make her forget about the pain, at least for a while.

She woke up the next day fully rested but with sore eyes as a reminder of what went down yesterday. She stretched out her body over the bed, expecting to bump into Brax's warm body but frowned when she was met by empty, sold sheets. In a flash she was sitting up in the bed and looking around the room. He couldn't have left after yesterday could he? He hadn't run when she had told him about Grant yesterday, he actually seemed upset and concerned for her, what could've changed overnight? Did he sleep on it and figure that he couldn't handle to much drama, despite that they had given in to their feelings it was still new and they had agreed on keeping things casual.

His shirt was still lying on the floor and the door to her ensuite was open and the lights were out but Brax was nowhere to be seen. She got out of bed and pulled on some underwear and Brax's discarded shirt before opening the door out of her room. As soon as she stepped out of the room she was met by a delicious smell coming from the kitchen and when she entered it she found Brax slaving by the stove in only his jeans from last night, totally oblivious to her as she stood and watched him from the doorway. She watched as the muscles on his back flexed with his every movement and she had to catch herself from drooling at the entrancing and mesmerizing sight. She was so caught up with staring that she almost missed him turning around, spotting her in the doorway. He smirked at her and put down the plate of pancakes he made on the counter.

"Seeing anything you like?" She shrugged her shoulders, feigning indifference while casually walking over to the island to lean on it.

"Nah, not really. Nothing special." He gasped and his eyes widened as he feigned hurt but his smile never left his face.

"You wound me sweetheart."  
>"You'll get over it!" He walked up to her with the grin still intact and embraced her while looking down in her eyes.<br>"Morning beautiful!"

"Morning"  
>"I must say that you look incredible in my clothes. That shirt has never looked so good." Despite the teasing tone and flirting innuendo she heard the seriousness in his compliment and his flattery erupted something inside her, she got all warm and tingly, she could definitely get used to this every morning. She could feel a huge smile erupt on her face at the thought and the feel of his arms around her.<p>

"Why don't you say that we eat the food that I've been slaving for and then I get to take you out on that date you promised me yesterday?" Her smile grew even wider if that was even possible and she reached behind him and grabbed a piece of sliced fruit and popped it in her mouth before kissing him deeply, a kiss that he responded to with the same intensity, leaving the both of them breathless. His teeth caught her lower lip and tugged at it, forcing her to open up and surrender to his tongue that took everything it got. The kiss was meant to stun him but he had quickly gotten the control and was now transforming her into a pot of mush, Goosebumps spread across her entire body and she had to hold to him for dear life. As she thought she was gonna pass out in the need of air he loosened the kiss and ended it with a light peck on her lips before leaning on her forehead, trying to catch his breath as well.

"You spoil me Mr. Braxton! But by all means continue!" He swept in and kissed her sweetly on the lips once more before abruptly letting her go and leading her into the living room where the table was all set up.

There was fresh coffee already poured up in the mugs, orange juice, yoghurt and he came back from the kitchen with the pancakes and the fruit. It was better than a hotel breakfast cause this contained every single thing she loved to have for breakfast.

"Can you come and cook for me every day?" She asked him with astonishment in her voice as her gaze would never leave the beautiful set table. "Cause if it had been me cooking it had been a cup of coffee and an apple on our way out the door."

He let out a whole hearted laugh that made her chest tight with emotions despite the fact that he was laughing at her. "You seriously can't cook?! Both Jack and Pete are gourmet cooks and I would ask them to work at the restaurant but they are hell bent on solving crimes and catching bad guys."

"Don't laugh, but they somehow got dad's genes when it comes to cooking and I got mom's, she was a terrible cook. One time dad had been working a lot an entire week so Friday night before he got of mom decided that she was gonna surprise him, let's just say it was a good thing Pete and Jack got home before she managed to burn down the house and save the whole thing! It was a complete disaster." She laughed and looked out in the distance at throwing herself back in time, it was the first time she talked to anybody else then her family about memories with her mom but with Brax it just felt natural and she wasn't even prompted to do so.

She shock herself out of her trance and saw Brax study her with interested eyes like he was enjoying hearing her talk about her past. "So no I can't cook. I managed to find the patients to let dad and Pete teach me how to cook my favorites. Pancakes, Lasagna and blueberry muffins. So don't expect some seven course dinner from me unless you don't want to end up in hospital with food poisoning or coming home to find your house burned down to the ground." They laughed again before he out of nowhere grew serious and got a distant look in his eyes like he was thinking deeply about something or trying really hard to figure out a difficult puzzle in his head.

But after a few moments he snapped himself out of it and started to load food onto their plates with a mysterious smile on his face that made her a little wary. But as soon as she put the first fork of food in her mouth all of the other thoughts went out the window and was replaced with pleasure instead. She bet she looked ridicules sitting there with her eyes closed and her mouth around the fork as she let out a loud moan but the food was incredible. When she opened her eyes again she looked over at Brax who was looking at her with amusement clearly written all over his face but she could see a tiny hint of pride that he managed to get a reaction like that out of her and she couldn't help but smile at him.

"I had no idea that you could cook like this?!"

"I do own a restaurant Charlie." A smirk grew on his face, showing of his dimples, as his amusement grew larger and she couldn't help but pout and stick out her tongue at him childishly, making him chuckle at her.

"So? Just because you own it doesn't mean that you have anything to do with the actually food you arse."

"No but if you want to be sure of what you're doing and that you give your costumers good food than you have to know you're way around food to make sure it is the way you want it to be."

"Control freak."

"I'm sorry did you say something?" He smirked devilish and raised an eyebrow in question, letting her know that she was in for it. She squirmed a bit in her chair while trying to muster up her best apologetic face she could.

"Nothing, just that it's admirable quality and that I should keep you around cause you definitely know your stuff!"

"That's what I thought then."

An hour later they were done eating and proper dressed and on their way out the door. He wouldn't give her one little hint on where they were going on the way there but she got curious as he never drove out of town but continued to drive towards the water. Ten minutes later they pulled over by the dock were the Blaxland was floating calmly and Mr. Stewart patiently waiting. Yet again that day she turned towards Brax in astonishment and with a huge smile on her face and he only smiled back in response. That was the second time in just an hour that he kept on surprising her with these small and casual yet amazing things, first breakfast and then this.

"You're taking me out on a boat?"

"Yepp, Alf agreed to let me borrow it but only if I took out and I quote "The lady that can keep me in check and have me behind bars in a second if I misbehave", so yes I'm taking you out on that." Alf had made their way up to them and had heard what Brax had said and couldn't help but laugh at the pair of them.

"Well young fella´ we need a woman that can keep us in line every now and again but we gotta treat her right. Now you kids have a good day!" He started to walk away from them and up the dock. "Tell your father and brother to not forget the fishing trip tomorrow!"

"Will do, thank you Mr. Stewart!"

When he had disappeared out of their sight Brax grabbed her hand and pulled her down the wolf before helping her get on board. On board the boat was a table set for two with champagne and flowers and she was once again surprised in a really good way. He led her to a stack of pillows out on the deck and handed her a glass of wine before he went inside and started the engine. He drove them further out on the water while she was lying on the pillows observing him or the beautiful scenery they passed. She loved it out here, she used to follow her dad out with the boat all the time while he was fishing. It didn't matter that she had to get up at dawn she was almost always up before her dad cause she was so excited to see the bay from waterview instead even though she already had about a million times. As they drove around she eventually went inside and they talked and talked until they stopped to eat and then they would talk some more. When they got back to the wolf a couple of hours later the sun was on it was down and they were both laughing without a care in the world about anything but them. It had been an successful day. They hadn't done much or anything fancy but it was enough, it wasn't forced it just came natural and she could honestly say it was one of the best date she had been on.

After Brax had tied up the boat he led her back to the pillows out on the deck and pulled her down so she was sitting between his legs and resting against his chest while watching the sunset. She was glad cause she weren't ready for the day to end yet. As she sat there in his embrace all her previous doubts about him disappeared, how she had ever felt anything but safe with him was beyond her. All day he had been attentive to her but she was not totally stupid, she knew there was something he was hiding from her cause something didn't feel quite right but he had never given her a reason not to trust him, at least not yet.

After he had dropped Charlie off last night he had immediately got down to work as soon as he got inside the door. The house had been dark and quiet, indicating that either everyone was asleep or out, either way he could work without intrusions. After a few phone calls and cash-in of a few favors he had pinpointed Mellie Bledcoe's location but by that time it was already early morning so he decided to go the next day instead. He was back in his ace; he was protecting those he cared about. They weren't exactly family but he counted himself close with the entire Holden family and especially Ruby and Charlie since they hung out quite a lot at each other's houses with Casey.

He arrived at the hotel the next morning and walked past the doors that he was quite familiar too. When he arrived at number eight he couldn't stop the shit eating grin that spread across his face, number eight had been his and Charlie's room whenever they wanted to meet up before they had told everyone. They would text the other with a time and then they would arrive separately and whoever got there first would always surprise the other when they finally arrived. Charlie had opened the door several times in only her lingerie and her silk robe hanging off her shoulders. Just the thought made it just a little harder to breath and his mouth went dry.

Continuing on he arrived at number 13 and banged on the door, he didn't know exactly what time it was just that it was past the early hours of the day and that was enough for him, it gave him an advantage to catch her off guard. The door was opened by the same woman Jack had stormed up to yesterday, she was mumbling under her breath and she looked like she had just gotten out of bed when he arrived. He could see the surprise in her eyes that she quickly tried to hide as she laid eyes on him and he knew then that she recognized him.  
>"What the hell do you want?"<p>

"I'm here telling you to stay the hell away from Charlie." She raised an eyebrow and looked at him like he was crazy.

"Telling me? You show up her at 7:30 in the morning, uninvited, and then you have the nerve to _tell_ me what to do? I don't think so." She started to close the door but he slammed it open and he could see that the impact scared her, she may act though but when push comes to show she would run away and hide just like her husband had.

"That's right, I'm telling you to stay the hell away you have messed with her life enough already. Cause if you don't I will make damn sure that your life is a living hell!" His voice was low and calm, almost too low and calm, deathly scary. He had scared many big though men with that voice.

"Is that so?" The smirk on her face grew bigger and bigger as a way to make him think she knew more than he did but he could see right through her, she had no backbone what so ever. He leaned in closer and looked her straight in the eyes and he could she how she shrugged back.

"I'm telling you, you don't want to mess with me! You have no idea what I'm capable and I swear to God that if you hurt Charlie I'm not sure what I would not be capable of." With that he pushed away and walked away leaving her shacking by the door. He jumped in the car and drove off, surprisingly calm. He had expected it to be much more difficult to get back in his old ways and what not but it was surprisingly easy, guess it was in his blood and if he really wanted to it wouldn't be a problem.

He arrived at work and got right on the paperwork that was hogging up his desk needing to be done. He was actually starting to appreciate work more and more, before it was a must now he actually wanted it to go well, he liked it here. Once the paperwork was done with he went out and helped set up all the tables as it was getting close to lunch-hour. It was only Thursday so he expected a pretty small crowd and not a too busy day, but boy was he wrong. As soon as they opened people popped in, if not for a table it was for take away, and they kept on coming until they closed up and it was the same at the night shift as well.

It got even worse when he got out of the kitchen only to find Heath standing outside waiting for him, really standing out from the crowd with his tanktop and board-shorts. He glared at him and walked out to the patio, knowing that Heath would follow him out. "We need to do something now! We've been waiting for months, you have never been as careful as you are now. You're going soft mate!"

He could feel his temper rise at once, he didn't need this right now his head wasn't in it and he weren't arrogant enough to think that he wouldn't get caught if he didn't have his head in the game. He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration as Heath kept on talking, his lips kept moving but he didn't hear a word he said his attention had turned to the detective that was now leaning at the bar counter, waiting for someone to take her order. Heath grew frustrated with his lack of response and noticed that he didn't uphold his full attention, when he followed his line of vision and scowled.

"I guess your interest is in someone else, seriously mate? If you don't see sense you will be out!" With that he walked off but Brax couldn't care less he was already halfway over to the bar to his detective. He came up on the other side of the bar and leaned on it in front of her.

"What can I do for you detective?"

"Can I have my usual pasta please?" She gave a sweet angel-like smile but he could see the playful glint behind it.

"You can… but it's gonna cost you."

"Really now?" She raised an eyebrow as he leaned forward on the counter so that he lips were only a mere inch from hers and he could hear her breath hitch at his closeness. Just as he was going to push back and follow through with his teasing when her scent hit him and he lost it. He closed the remaining distance between them and captured her lips in between his and he almost moaned at the feel of her lips against him. After they broke apart he went in and out of the kitchen to get her food that he had already prepared, knowing that she would show up as usual. With a final peck on his lips she put down a bill and disappeared out the door. He watched her walk away and that's when he realized that Heath might be right, it was time for him to do something he was going soft.

**Hope you guys enjoy it, sorry it took so long but school has been insane lately. It's just a little in-between it will be more action in the next one. Please review and let me know what you think! Xx Lexie**


	10. Chapter 9 - the man behind the shadows

**Hi guys! Hope you guys are feeling alright. Here's my new update, it's not quite as long as usual but hopefully I will manage to write the next chapter soon after the national tests that I have next week! So hopefully you'll get an update sometime next week!**

**In this chapter there's some new developments and a familiar face will show up to stir up some trouble for the citizens of Summerbay! **

**Enjoy lovelies! Xx Lexie **

Chapter 9 – The man behind the scenes

It was going to burn to the ground, there was no doubt about it. There were flames everywhere and they were eating up the building. There was smoke everywhere. You could barely see your hand in front of you, the smell burned your nose and the smoke irritated your eyes so you had to blink every second. It was in here that they were trapped and they would be lucky if they could find a way out of here in time.

He had had two stress-free weeks were he had only concentrated on work and getting back into villain-mood. He had tried to control his emotions around Charlie and he had tried to talk more to Heath to show interest and he was somewhat successful. When Heath had screwed up this morning he had called after him to come out to the meeting, he had heard a brawl in the background so he had driven there as fast as he could. But when he got there the place was already on fire and Heath nor the boys were anywhere in sight, so stupid and loyal as he was he ran into a burning building without a second thought and now he was stuck with no way out.

He knew Heath was right behind him, he could almost feel him breathing on his neck. They had just found a door, which was impossible to open because the heat had melted the locks, when he thought he saw something flashing further away so it was in that direction he was crawling and after minutes of crawling in darkness he reached some sort of window. It wasn't especially big but with a bit of luck and a bit of pushing they could probably get through. Heath noticed his idea and with a nod of their heads they broke the glass together that had already started to crack by the heat of the fire. He helped push Heath out and Heath helped to pull him up, the broken glass cut their arms and legs but they didn't stop they kept running to his car cause Heath got there with one of the boys and drove off to his place.

The first thing they did when they got there after they had made sure that neither Casey or Kyle were there, was to through their clothes in the washer and taking turns in the shower. While Heath was in the shower he went to the fridge to pull out a bear and then he sat down at the table taking a sip every once and again while waiting impatiently for Heath to finish so that he could get some answers.

After he had used up all the hot water twenty minutes later the bathroom door opened and all the steam escaped and the house became all stuffy. A few moments later Heath came out with damp hair and in full motion to put on his shirt. He took a seat across from him and actually had the decency to look ashamed and a little embarrassed.

"So are you gonna tell me what the hell that was and why I came to find a burning building just after you had called and said you screwed up with Jake?" His voice was low, clearly stating that he was not in a good mood. "I thought it was a done deal, what screwed it up?"

Heath got a frustrated expression on his face and he looked like he wanted to hit someone. "I don't know, we followed the routine and it worked great. We were getting ready for the big load but the success must have gotten to the bastards head cause all of the sudden he started yelling and stuff, going all crazy. Next thing I know there was a fight starting while I was calling you and a few minutes later smoke started to come into the room."

"Who lit the fire?"

"Not us that's for sure! Me, Brodes and Mike were there the whole time, it must have been one of Jake's guys."

He nodded and got up, starting to pace around the room as his head was swarming with plans and thoughts. All this was not unusual for Jake at all, he would do crazy things that made no sense, like lightning a fire, when he got worked up but something must have triggered him to get upset and it was hard to believe that it was just greed. Heath or one of the boys must have done something before the meeting because the meeting wasn't planned of what he gathered from Heath. Jake had called and asked to see them to talk things through. So the whole thing had to be planned. The boys might be stupid and tactless but they weren't worthy of Jake's time if they did something wrong. If they did he wouldn't call a meeting and burn down a warehouse, he would just attack them and give them a good beating and then he would be done with it. So for him to light a place on fire it had to be a way for him to get his message through, it had to be Heath that had done something for him to go to such extravagant lengths. The question was what the hell Heath had done to piss him off.

"What did you do Heath?"

"What? I just told ya I didn't do anything, or didn't you hear me just then?"

"Yeah, well I'm not an idiot either, or haven't you realized that yet? Don't you think that I know that the only reason Jake would burn down a building was if your stupid ass got us in trouble?!" He banged his hand against the wall in frustration and in a try to hinder it from banging Heath's face instead. "So What. The. Hell. Did you do? Cause the cops are probably gonna knock on that door any minute, whether they know you were there or not, and I would really like to know what I'm covering for."

"I might have been with this girl last week without knowing she was with Jake…"

"Ugh, ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" He fisted his hands at his side, it took every ounce of willpower for him to not to something stupid like smacking Heath silly. "He tried to burn us up because you couldn't be bothered to keep it in your pants for once?!"

Heath just shrugged like it was no big deal which only caused his blood to boil even more and he wasn't too sure if he should be covering for him after all, maybe he did deserve to go down for this. They started each other dead in the eye for several minutes until their tension was broken by someone banging on the door. Through the frosted glass on the door he could make out several blue shirts on the other side of the door, looking at his watch he saw that it only took the cops about two hours until they came here. With a warning glance at Heath he went and opened the door prepared to lie through his teeth and be the bastard he really was when it came to cops. But when he saw who the cops were he was slightly thrown off. There was no way he would be able to get away with this when the cops was no one else then Charlie and Jack. He put on the best straight face he could muster and acted totally oblivious to why the cops would show up at his doorstep yet again tonight.

"What can I do for you?" He sighed slightly but stepped aside from the door so that they could walk past him and into the living room where Heath now sat on the couch with tv on, looking like he hadn't moved all day, he barley looked up as they walked past him and to the kitchen table.

Charlie was the one to speak up and he figured it was because she was in charge. She turned her eyes to Heath and focused only on him. "Could you tell us where you were between seven and nine pm this evening?"

"I was right here, watching the football." He didn't dignify her with a glance he just kept staring straight ahead at the tv, making Charlie raise her eyebrows.

"Were you alone?"

"No, I was here too." Charlie looked over at him questioningly and her eyes clearly stated that she didn't believe him for a second. Her whole face and body stance told him that she was disappointed and he had a feeling that it didn't have anything to do with them not being able to nail Heath, but the fact that he just lied to protect him. For a fraction of a second he wanted to take it back only to see a smile directed towards him instead but he pushed that feeling away rather quickly. He knew that it would always come down to this, he would have to lie for his brother and would have been so much easier if he hadn't been so stupid to get feelings for her.

"Yeah right."

"Would you mind telling me what's going on and why you are here?" Charlie looked at Jack and it looked like they had one of those famous quite Holden talks before she looked back and forth between him and Heath.

"There was a warehouse fire a few miles out of town and inside we found a couple of Riverboys and Jake Pirovic and a few guys that hangs around with him. We have very strong reasons to believe that Heath was in that building as well."

"Well you're wrong. We've been here pretty much the whole night." Charlie looked at him disbelievingly and slightly shook her head, a motion so small he would've missed it if he wasn't studying her so closely. Reluctantly she nodded and pushed herself of the table she had been leaning against.

"Okay then, but I need you guys to follow me down to the station and give your statements." She motioned for them to walk out the door and he tried to hang around to get alone with Charlie but she just went past him and steered Heath to her car so he had no other choice but to go with Jack and watch her drive away. His long face must be showing cause Jack chuckled at him as they climbed into the car.

"Just a warning mate, Charlie hates when she's lied to and don't even try to deny that you weren't just covering for him in there, she's also an excellent person-reader. There's a reason why she is where she is and gets to boss us around. You'd be wise to remember that.."

She watched Brax standing on the driveway in the review mirror and she could only feel disappointment sipping through her body. She could not believe that he would actually do this, after everything he had told her about not wanting to be a part of that life anymore, of not becoming his father. She had actually believed him when he said that he had left all that behind, he surrounded himself with cops for god sakes. His two best friends were her brothers, who were cops, and he was sort of dating her, the top of them all.

So it was with anger and disappointment she drove into the station and handed Heath over to get his statement taken from one of the other officers, she was to tired and emotional to have the energy to deal with this right now. She knew that if she took Heath she would have to take Brax when he came in so that she could be in charge of the case. But this was a part of the mystery she gladly left to the others to handle. She walked to her office just as Jack and Brax walked through the door. She looked at him for a second, long enough for her to see the pleading in his eyes, but she quickly looked away and walked in to her room and closed the door behind her.

She sunk back into her chair and started to read up all the information she had on the desk once more, hoping to catch on to something that she might have missed. After staring blindly at the papers for over half an hour she sighed in frustration and threw them down. She leaned back in her chair and tapped her fingers on the armrest impatiently for five seconds before she rushed out of her chair and out to the storage room and brought out the huge whiteboard on wheels and rolled it into her office, ignoring the questioningly glances from her coworkers. Behind closed doors again she put up pictures of people, wrote names, connections, crimes and suspicions while trying to pin out their entire network more closely. She was so up in it that she barely missed the door opening and closing. When she spun around she found no one other than Brax leaning against the door with an uncertain expression. She turned again and spun the board around so that he wouldn't be able to read anything, she knew she was being silly but she wouldn't risk anything. When she turned back around again her was frowning at her and looked slightly hurt.

"What are you doing?"

"Can't risk you running of to your brother now can I?" Her voice was cool, almost emotionless, as she walked back behind her desk but she was anything but emotionless and cool. She was trembling, not really sure how to act around him at the moment. Did she treat him like before or like a criminal?

"Charlie, come on?!" He sounded affronted but she refused to look at him, she kept her gaze firmly on the scattered papers in front of her. But her willpower was weak and she looked up at him the same time as her walls came tumbling down.

"Don't! You don't get to come here and play that card with me and play me for a fool again. Not when you have been lying to me all this time."

"I haven't lied to you!" His voice was forceful and strong, his eyes full of determination saying he wouldn't back down. But she couldn't help but scoff at his words.

"So you're trying to tell me that you didn't lie back then? Don't you think I know that you weren't with Heath tonight?! We checked your phone records, you got a call from Heath about half an hour before we got the call about the fire and his phone-location was pinned to a cell stations just a few miles from the warehouse. So how is that not lying and playing me along?! Was I just a means to an end? A convenience if your brother ever got hurt, didn't you care how that would affect me at all?" He was standing next to her in a flash and had her turned towards him. The intensity in his eyes made her gulp and she almost shrugged back at the sight. There was a fire in his eyes she had never seen and it scared the crap out of her.

"I swear to you Charlie, I have not lied to you and would never use you like that do you hear me?!"

"Then why the hell did you just lie in there, why did you cover for him?! W-"

"I DID IT TO PROTECT MY FAMILY! No matter what, I protect my family and if that means lying to the cops then I will." She sighed and became quite for a while, trying to recover from that. She knew that family was everything and despite Heath being an idiot he was still his brother. So she couldn't really blame him, she would probably do the same for any one of her family if she had to.

"Yeah, I know and that's what I'm afraid off."

"What?"

"You're a family man and I respect that but… I'm scared of what lines you wouldn't cross to make sure your family was safe. How many people have to go down and get their lives ruined just so your brother can stay out of prison?" He opened his mouth to speak but he closed it again like he was at loss for words. She gave him a sad smile and went over to the door and opened it, indicating that he should leave.

"Charlie..."

"Just go." She could hear how small her voice sounded but she didn't have the energy to fight or but up a battle, she didn't want to deal with all this right now or she would say something she would later regret. His eyes showed defeat and he walked over to her and the door ready and just as she thought that he was going to leave he stopped in the door and leaned closer. He tried to kiss her but she manage to turn away and he only got her cheek. She could hear him sigh and she didn't have to look at him to know that he was frustrated with her, he mumbled something about seeing her later. As she heard the door close she sunk into the nearest chair and listened to his fading footsteps and then his car driving away.

It felt like a kick in the stomach, it hurt for a while but you just had to breath through it so that it would pass. After a few moments of breathing deeply to calm down and get back on track she got up from her chair and uncovered the board again and got back to work. She had barley picked up the marker when her door opened once more, when she turned around she found Pete leaning against the door after he closed it. She gave him a small smile before turning back towards the door. From the corner of her eye she could see him coming up next to her, pretending to study the board but she knew what he really wanted, he was bidding his time to questing her but she would let him play if she wanted to.

"This looks good. Have come up with anything?"

"Nothing new yet, nothing that helps anyway." He nodded and looked at the board once more but didn't say anything else and it bugged her to no end and she couldn't take the elephant in the room. "So are you going to ask me what you came in here for so that we can get it over with?"

He let out a throaty laughter but went and leaned against her desk with his arms crosse over his chest. "I saw Brax walk out of here looking like a kicked puppy, is everything okay?"

"Define okay" she snorted. "He just lied, not just to my face but on the record for his brother. He said he was nothing like them but his becoming more and more like that every day."

"Maybe it wasn't the smartest thing to do, nor the right thing. But you can't honestly say that you wouldn't do the same if it was me or Jack."

"That's not the same thing and you know it." Now it was his time to snort and he looked at her like he couldn't believe she just said that and that's when she realised how judgemental she sounded. She, if anybody, should know what it's like to be judged.

"How is it not the same, Charlie?! Because you're a cop? Don't give me that crap, we both know that this is not about him protecting his family!"

"Really?! Then what is it about?"

"This is about him lying to you and you being a afraid. You're scared that he wouldn't do the same for you and that he will break you, because he's the first guy you've really liked in no really long time. He's come to mean more to you than Angelo ever did." He looked at her pointedly waiting for her response but she was speechless. Her brother knew her to well, he had not even been in her during their argument or with them when they brought Brax and Heath in so he dint have her reactions to go by, he just knew. She tried to keep her emotions from showing in her eyes but she didn't have the energy to. So she just gave him a weak smile and he was at her sight in a flash.

"He's a total idiot for lying and protecting his brother like that but you're also an idiot for being angry with him and pushing him away when you should real tell him what's wrong." He gathered her in his arms and she let herself relax in his embrace and let out a sigh of content when he kissed the top of her head. "And you're supposed to the smart one in the family, ay?"

"Shut up" she grumbled into his chest as she snuggled in closer to him and he let out a carefree laugh that made her feel so safe to hear her brother like that again.

"So how about it sweetie, let's crack this puzzle so you can talk to your man." He pushed her towards the board again and they dove right into it again. This time it went better and faster when she had someone to boll her theories with and a fresh pair of eyes.

After two hours they had yet to crack it but they had gotten that final missing piece. There was another, bigger, person involved. It didn't stop with Heath, there was someone above him who they had yet to identify and come across. But at least it finally made scenes that they always got away and was one step ahead all the time, traces disappearing and so on. Cause there was no way in hell that it was one of the other boys doing, they didn't have the brains for it if she was honest. For a fraction of a second Brax's face showed in her mind but she quickly showed it away. It couldn't be, there was no way. She had spent almost every waking hour with him so she should know if he was up to something and whenever they would talk about him leaving the boys behind and his family, there was never any doubt in his voice that he did the right thing by leaving all that behind. She couldn't possibly be that wrong and her judgement clouded by her feelings, it never had been before. She always managed to shut down her feelings whenever she thought something was up.

So no, she shock that thought out of her mind rather quickly and started to look for other suspects instead. They got a few more calls during the night, making them stop their search but it was good for the head and gave them a clearer mind when they got back. Finally morning came and her shift was finally over. She had texted Brax before she left the station and asked if they could meet up and he agree to met her outside the surf club with a cup of coffee ready for her. She couldn't contain her smile at his consideration for her.

She smiled at her coworkers as she left the station and she drove of with a light and satisfied feeling. She parked he car on the parkinglot by the beach, away from the surfclub, think about taking a walk along the beach and watch the morning surfers before seeing Brax. She took of her heels and took them in her hand as she walked along the shore, letting the sand slip between her toes. The sea-air and the sunlight gave her a little more energy to be able to pull through a talk with Brax before crashing. As she was about to walk up to the surfclub she spotted Brax up by the fence and a smile spread across her face, but then she spotted a blond woman standing close to him her hand on his arm. She walked warily up the path and kept a neutral face, trying not to show of the jealousy that was burning inside her. Who was that woman?

The closer she got the smiler on the blond got clearer and the coy look on his too. She stopped a few meters away from them and looked out over the ocean, deciding to let them have space and not run in there like a jealous girlfriend but she kept them in her preview vision. After a few seconds he noticed her and tore himself away from the woman and walked over to her. He handed her the cup of coffee with a cautious smile but frowned when she shock her head as a turn down and she quickly justified her actions.

"I don't need a caffeine buzz, I need to crash. And if I drink that now I won't be able to sleep when I get home. But thank you though!" She smiled at him and she could she him visible relax as he leaned on the fens next to her.

"So are you here to tell me to pack my stuff and go or what?"

"No" she laughed and she could see the confusion on his face, he had been dead set that she would break up with him after their conversation at the station.

"You're not?"

"No. I was just angry. I don't take well to people that lie to me... And I got scared."

"Scared?" She sighed and focused on the water again, doing her beets to avoid his intense stare.

"I'm scared of getting hurt, Brax. The feelings that I have for you... I don't trust them and I got scared that you were just playing me along. So I'm sorry that I freaked out! It took a talk with Pete for me to realise that I overreacted and acted on my emotions, pushing you away as a way to protect myself."

She heard him let out what she thought sounded like a sigh of relief and then she was in his arms with his lips pressed to hers. In the kiss they pored every once of apology, trying to show the other person how sorry they were, totally oblivious to the blonde just a few feet away who wore a catlike grin.

When the need for air became to much they pulled away, the both of them breathless and a bit flushed. Brax had a huge smile on his face as he pulled on her arm and indicated with his head that they should move to the parkinglot a few meters away.

"Where are we going?"

"Back to your place to sleep as it seems that neither of us have gotten any sleep tonight." She was just about to respond to him when she caught sight of the blonde woman standing behind them again and she frowned a bit. Who was she and what was she still doing here? She turned back to Brax who was waiting for her a little confused.

"Not to sound like some crazy person but who is that woman over there watching us?" Brax turned around and when he saw who she was talking about he sighed in frustration and looked up to the sky with closed eyes.

"That is Tegan Callahan."


	11. Chapter 10 - the smell of something

Chapter 10 - The smell of something

As soon as he had spotted Tegan outside the restaurant he knew something was up, and the smile she wore was just all wrong. She wanted something, she wouldn't smile otherwise considering they didn't leave things on a good note last time. It had ended with her throwing a beer bottle at his head, missing him with just a couple of inches. He had just been about to turn around and walk away when she walked up to him and he had nowhere to go without her following him. He knew her, and even him running into the men's room wouldn't help. There was no stopping her.

He had had to fight off the urge to cringe back when she reached out and touched him. There was no way he was going to let her get to him so he froze in place and waited for her to get on with it. That's when he had seen Charlie standing a few feet away by the fens and he he tore himself from Tegan without a second thought. Now he just had to find out away to get Charlie uninterested in Tegan. He didn't want her near Tegan, cause she could read people just as well as Charlie and he was afraid that she would see what was really going on and use it to her advantage.

After having said that Tegan was the mother of Heath's daughter and explained that Heath even had a daughter they had gone back to her place that was empty, considering it was now morning, and gone to sleep. He had woken up five minutes ago after a five hour long nap and was now just staring down at the beauty that laid next to him. It was the best feeling he knew, waking up next to her. At first when they started seeing each other that was something he never got the privilege to do and not something he desire either, he never considers himself as a cuddler. But after the first couple of times he found himself wanting to have her in his arms every night and now they often spent the night at the other ones house, they were seldom alone and that suited him just fine.

He knew that she would find his gazing, or what she was calling staring, was creepy but he couldn't help himself. It was not often he got the opportunity to study he without all of her walls up, she was always somewhat guarded even when she was with him. But when she slept she looked so peaceful and fragile. Sometimes he would catch himself and ask what was happening to him, he never used to be this sappy and he never wanted to cuddle with a woman ever before. She was special. But he already knew that, he knew that the first time he met her in his club. No woman had never gotten his attention like that and got him to fight to get her home, he always let the women come to him. But the first time he was absolutely sure was when he woke up alone the next morning and she was nowhere to be found and he found himself disappointed. That's when he knew that he was in for it.

He smiled as he felt Charlie's body stir a little before she snuggled closer to him and moaned softly, an indication that she was waking up. Soon enough her eyelids fluttered open and he was met by those blue eyes that he was totally compelled by.

"Morning beautiful." She blinked a couple of times to get the sleep out of her eyes so that she could focus her gaze on him.

"You need to stop doing that!" She groaned. "One of these days you'll give me a heart-attack, I swear!"

"You'll get used to it!" He chuckled and planted a kiss on her temple as she grunted and turned away from him and buried her face in her pillow. "What are you doing crazy?"

"I'm trying to sleep without some creepy stalker staring at me."

"Awe babe, come on!" He crept up closer to her, so that her back was flush with his chest, and started to plant kisses on her neck that got a slight moan out of her but she still swatted him away.

"Shut up or I will kick you out of the bed!"

"Someone is cranky this morning... But it's quite alright, I have to get to work anyway."

"Yeah, well it's been an exhausting night." He sighed. There it was, the elephant in the room. His teasing mood disappeared in a flash and he sat up slightly in the bed and leaned against the headboard, pulling her along with him because he didn't want to let her go. He was afraid she would pull away from him if he did. He clung to her petty body like she was his anchor that kept him safe

"You could say that again! And I'm sorry ay, this whole thing just..."

"Yeah, I know. Let's just forget about it, my bosses are on to me enough as it is and letting this go will not make it better. We're clutching for straws right now and it's getting us nowhere." She snuggled back into him and he could feel her body slacking and her breathing slowed down, letting him know she was falling back to sleep. She most truly be exhausted if she barley managed to stay awake for five minutes, he smiled down at her and waited until he was certain she had fallen asleep before moving out of the bed. He would've happily stayed right where he was but Heath was waiting for him at the restaurant so he put on his shoes and was out the door with a single backward glance at the sleeping goddess.

He had not heard from Tegan since he ditched her like he had expected, the only message he had was from Heath telling him to hurry. He didn't worry to much about it, he was just glad that she didn't bother him and hopefully she had gotten the message last time and gone away. But he didn't hold his breath, the saner part of him knew that she was up to something and that there was no way she would just disappear. Despite better judgement he kept the hope up and went up to the restaurant only to have it deflated at once by the sight at the bar. Next to Heath on one of the barstools sat no other than Tegan, he knew it was too good to be true. With a stealth face he walked over to the bar and took over from the staff member that was already there, turning his attention to Heath while completely ignoring Tegan once more.

"About time you showed up mate!"

"Yeah, well I had other things to take care of." Heath got a sour expression on his face and Tegan started to look interested in their conversation now that there was some drama.

"Like screwing your pig-girlfriend?"

"Don't test me mate, not after the stunt you just pulled!"

"Wow! I really didn't believe it when I heard that you were going soft but a pig girlfriend and working in a bar?"

"He doesn't work here, he owns the place." He felt his jaw twitch and the glare he sent Heath's way should've been enough to bury him ten feet under ground. He really didn't know when to shut up and do as he's told, he just had to screw up more then once today. He knew exactly what Tegan would do with that kind of information. Not just the fact hat Charlie was a cop and she could get him into rouble but she would also use Angelo's as leverage. She wasn't stupid, she knew what their use of it was.

"Heath!" He saw the glimpse of triumph in Tegan's eyes and she knew he wouldn't be going anyway soon. She now knew that there was money to go around, giving her more motivation to stay around if not to make his life miserable for how he dumped her a year ago when he found out that it was Heath that was Darcy's father and not some stranger.

With a sigh and a shake of his head, that clearly indicated he had given up, he walked around the bar and over to his office. "When you've gotten rid of her, come and see me I have something I want to talk to you about."

Safely inside his office he punched the door, he hat was starting to get bumbs as an aftereffect of all frustration he had taken out on it, instead of punishing Heath. It barley took five minutes before the opened and Heath came standing in front of him where he sat at his desk. When he didn't say anything he could see Heath's fuse go off.

"Are you going to spit it out or what?!"

"What the hell were you thinking, bringing Tegan in to all of this?"

"What?! I thought you needed to remember where you really belonged." He had smug smirk covering his face, like he was proud of himself for putting him on edge.

"With the girl who cheated on me and had a baby with my brother?" You could almost smell how confused Heath was, it had all made perfect sense in his head when he connected the dots. But he never expected for Brax to react the way he did.

"Wait, I thought you were over that?"

"Of course I'm over that your idiot!" He growled "But don't you see that she's trouble? We have enough to deal with as it is with all the things the cops is trying to pin on you."

"I thought we sorted that last night?"

"They know you were there, so after last night they are trying to find anything even a parking ticket. So better be able to handle both that and Tegan cause I won't do it!"

They were both breathing heavily, trying to clam down and they just stood there for several minutes glaring at each other. Both equally frustrated. The tension could be cut by a knife and if someone would say one wrong word punches would be thrown, and as usual Heath couldn't keep his mouth shut. "So... You don't love her then?"

"Who?"

"Holden" Brax's jaw ticked and he had to restrain himself from jumping at Heath. He couldn't react that way about Charlie around him, everything had just died down.

"No" Heath nodded and looked pleased with the answer so without another word he turned around and walked out the door. He felt sick to his stomach, there was to much going on right now and he felt as if he had betrayed Charlie by denying her. Every day it got harder to tell himself he was just using her when he knew it wasn't true. It never had been, even from the beginning. That had just been an opportunity that showed afterwards. He wanted to go see Charlie but she had strictly told him to not show up at the house under any circumstances because she and the girls were having a girls day/night. He picked up the phone in hope that maybe, maybe they hadn't started just yet.

"Charlie Holden" her voice answered absentmindedly while she continued to laugh carefree at something in the background.

"Hey babe, what are you up?"

"Brax! We just cracked up a bottle of wine. Why?" Disappointment filled him and he slouched back in his chair.

"Oh, you've already started?"

"Yeah, why is something wrong?" He smiled at the concern he heard in her voice and he immediately felt better.

"Nah, everything's fine! I'll talk to you later yeah."

"You sure?"

"Definitively. You have fun babe!"

He hung up the phone and sat down thinking for a few seconds before grabbing his keys ready to go home and let Liam in charge for a few hours. When he got home he found Kyle and Casey sitting on the sofa playing video games and his mode spiralled downwards again, he had looked forward to have the house to himself if he couldn't be with Charlie. "Shouldn't you be at work or something?"

"Nah, it's my day of you goof, you did the roster."

"Smartass! Well don't you have something to do, girlfriends to see or something? Case?"

He could feel their gazes on him as he walked into the kitchen to get something to eat and later on when he sat down on the other sofa. It really started to bug him when they still didn't look away when he started eating, he hated when people watched him eating, they had even paused their game to be able to wait him out until he started talking. Finally he snapped and looked up at them and their eyes were pure, fake, innocence. "Spit it out will ya? A guy tries to eat?"

"What crawled up your ass?"

"Tegan" he grumbled and both Casey and Kyle's eyes widened at the mention of the name and he didn't blame them. Neither of them had expected for her to ever show her face again. Kyle the calm one just nodded and sort of accepted it but Casey, the more naive one, couldn't really grasp it.

"Wh-what, Tegan? Is she here?"

"Yep"

"Why?"

"Heath." He sighed. "Your idiot of a brother didn't think I had hard life enough trying to keep him out if jail so he decided to throw Tegan into the mix."

"Does Charlie know?"

"She kinda met her yeah." He said evasive, hoping they would drop it all together but he was never that lucky.

"Yeah well does she know? About you two, I mean?"

"Drop it will ya Case?!"

"She doesn't know, does she? You have to tell her Brax!" He pinned him with his gaze to show him how serious he really was and Brax knew that he had to tell her he just hoped he could put it if a little bit longer. Then for the first time that night Kyle spoke up and as usual he was smart about it all.

"You have to tell her Brax. If you're not using her you have to tell her. And I know that you're not using her, you haven't ever been this happy. Don't mess her around! I might not have known her for very long, but you won't find better then her, so if you want my opinion... Do not screw it up." With that he picked up his control again and un-paused the game and turned his focus back to the TV. His mouth was slightly agape, he was astonished by the words that came from Kyle and he knew he was right.

"How did you know? About me using or not using Charlie?" Kyle smirked slightly but kept his eyes on the game.

"We live under the same house. We know what you guys are doing to some extent and you should really watch out for propel around you when you are talking if you do t want a certain someone find out. And about the not using part, well when you let down your walls you're not too hard to read." He shrugged not giving it too much thought, he knew he could trust Casey and Kyle, no matter what. They don't have any secret agendas. He went back to his food and slightly enjoying hearing the two of the banter. Not as livid as before he showed up but for that he was sort of grateful. But after a few seconds the silence was interrupted by Casey once more.

"Do you love her?" He stopped in mid motion as he was about to put another fork of food in his mouth. Taking his silence as doubt Casey continued on. "If you do, you will either have to give them up or... Or you'll have to let her go."

~#~#~#~#~#~

The laughter rang through the kitchen as she, Martha and Bianca sat on the many surfaces with a glad of wine, watching while Leah cooked their food. She smiled as she relished the secure feeling she had. She was laid back and relaxed, more so then ever. When the four of them get together all hell broke lose. They get tipsy, laugh and gossip and in general make a lot of noise but they have the time of their lives every single time.

"Yeah, well can you blame me?! The brat didn't even get into town before she had stolen away it's most eligible bachelor!" Bianca pointed towards her trying to hold a serious face when everybody else laughed so hard the almost fell to the floor. She was still banging on and on about how she supposedly had luckily snatched Brax away from here, even though she was just joking. But Charlie couldn't help but agree. She had been lucky that night she met him in the city and even more so that he wanted her and was a stubborn mule who wouldn't take a no as an answer.

"Honey you have to get over that!" Leah laughed out which earned her a death glare and the loss of her wine glass as Bianca took a huge sip of it before turning back towards Charlie.

"All jokes aside, how is it to date Summerbay ladies favourite hunk?"

"It's very nice actually."

"Nice?" Martha chocked out. "Nice? That's all you've got for us? Come on we want details!"

"Fine. Aside from having to arrest his brother all the time I'm really happy. I didn't think he would be able to do the whole one woman thing but he is very good. He keeps me grounded and he's there and makes me trust him. We don't do anything major but it's the little things, like when I wake up I find him staring at me like I'm the most precious thing in the world or if he wakes up before me, he sometimes make me breakfast... He makes me feel wanted and it's good. Nice." She smiled sheepishly and looked down to study her glass as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Now you're really making me jealous. I never wake up to find someone gazing at me or breakfast, only empty sheets and Irene's singing downstairs."

Bianca's comment broke the seriousness and they were back to laughing and the rest of the day followed the same patten until it got dark outside. They drank more wine, ate, gossiped. Drank some more wine while talking serious questions until they were back to laughing again. Currently they were talking about Bianca's sexlife, or lack there of.

"I'm serious!" She exclaimed as they continued to laugh at her. "Since Liam it's been pretty much dead, I've been out trying to find someone but no one really spiked my interest. And with Martha and Leah being married and now you finding Brax I have no one to go out with anymore." She pouted adorably and Charlie couldn't help but smile.

"We can still go out hun! How about we go into the city and go to Brax's club where I met him. Maybe you'll get as lucky as I got..."

"Now that's the best idea I've heard all day!" She raised her glass and clinked it with Charlie's in salute. "So I've spilled about my sexlife and I know you don't want to hear about Martha and Jack's... And let's face it Leah and Dan's isn't that interesting since they are married, the only interesting one's is yours my friend so spill it!"

"I'm not telling you anything!"

"Come on Charlie, you're the only one with an exiting life. So does he live up to his reputation?" Martha said while wiggling her eyebrows, making her blush slightly. "Is it good?"

"It's really, really good." She said blissfully while faking a dreamy look on her face, making the others laugh at her silliness.

"I'm starting to regret asking, I would've lived better in the unknown." Bianca pouted.

"Had better?" Leah chipped in and she just shock her head. In real honesty she never had better. Brax knew what he was doing and she guessed it helped to have such a strong attraction as they had.

"Nah. He's very... attentive. He knows how to treat a woman better then anyone I've been with."

"And that's saying a lot considering you've been _with_ a woman!"

"Haha shut up!"

"But you're happy though right?"

"Yeah, I really am." She smiled and the others found a new subject but she didn't really listen to them. She was happy. Really happy. She hadn't really thought about it this much before incase it would all end soon, but the girls asked questions that forced her to be honest with herself. And happy was a really good word to describe how she felt right now.

After talking a little more and cleaning the dishes after their dinner they all sat down on the sofas with wine and popcorn to watch a move. A typical girl movie were they all gushed over the handsome guy who would get the outcasted girl. They found each other, broke up only together right in time to the end.

Brax had texted her several times during the night to check in and see if the girls had yet to leave. She couldn't help but find it adorable that he wanted to spend time with he so much.

After the movie ended the girls left her alone with the dishes that she decided to leave until tomorrow, instead she walked into the bathroom and took shower. After making sure that all the windows and doors was locked and that all the lights were turned off she walked into her bedroom in just a towel, ready to jump into bed. She turned on the lights and let out a scream and almost jumped so she hit her head on the ceiling. On her bed laid Brax, leaning against the headboard with a shit eating grin on his face.

"The best you ever had huh?"

She did her best not react to what he was saying and focused instead on glaring holes into him. "Seriously?! Do I have to get locks on my windows as well as my doors? How long have you been in here?"

"Long enough and you could but I don't know what good that would do ya, I was never a Boy Scout when I was a kid. And you're avoiding my question. Am I really the best, attentive men that has had the pleasure of having you in his bed?"

The grin on his face grew about ten times bigger if that was even possible and the red on her face exploded. He got up from the bed and saunter over to her and gathered her in his arms.

"Don't be embarrassed babe." He whispered in her ear. "Your the best I've had too. You're pretty amazing, Charlie. You're very hard not like, and sexy as hell too!" She laughed and circled her arms around his neck and brought him in for a soft kiss.

"God, I missed you today!"

"You saw me this morning?"

"So?" He pulled her closer and kissed her again with so much passion she almost got dizzy.

"Good point. I missed you too."

"Good! Now it's time to justify that."

He grabbed her hands and pulled her down onto the bed with him where she curled up to his side, just enjoying him holding her. They lay in silence as his hand stroked up and down her spin outside the towel that covered her body, but a soon as he came across a patch of uncovered skin the touch of his hand on her bare skin sent chills up her entire body and a warm, fussy feeling grew in her stomach. Her muscles was somewhat relaxed since her hot shower but his motions on her back and the steady rhythm of his breathing made her entire body to mush. All coherent thoughts went out the window and she forgot about the embarrassment and the hope that he didn't hear everything they said. But boy was she wrong.

"What was it I heard about you being with a woman?"

"Oh god!" She groaned and buried her face in his chest, just eating for his laugh that never came.

"No I'm serious babe. Wh- is it true that you've been with another woman?" She peaked up from his chest when he heard the curios tone in his voice. There was not a trace of amusement or judgement in neither his voice or face and she couldn't do anything but tell him.

"Before Angelo I got involved with this girl, Joey, that I got in contact with through work and we sort if hit it off. I had never done it before, it was all new to me but we created feelings for each other but after a while she left town and that was it."

"So hang on. You've been in a relationship with a girl?"

"Yes..."

"Wow that is hot!" She laughed and smiled up to him and his serious looking face. "No I'm serious babe. That is hot!"

"Thank you! For not judging me."

"Anytime. Besides I don't have the right to judge now do I, and you wouldn't be you otherwise, and it's you that I like so it doesn't matter to me. It just makes you even sexier." She smiled up at him in amazement and reached up a hand to stroke his cheek gently.

"Why is it that every time you climb through my window you get all cheesy and emotional, though guy?" He looked at her without saying anything for a while with an intense yet gentle stare before speaking.

"Well that's what you do to me. "

She got all giddy and crawled on top of him so she was in the right height to kiss him. She poured out every once of the feelings she didn't dare to voice and say out loud, hoping he would grasp on either way. He answered her with the same passion, his tongue stroking along her roof and teeth clashing while they clung to each other likes they were drowning. Soon enough her towel was on the floor and soon his shirt joined it. He flipped them around so that she was on her back with him on top and then he started to devour her. He planted kisses all over her body, like he was trying to remind her of her words from before. They spent hours trying to show the other how they felt before they finally exhausted one and other and fell asleep.

**There you go guys! These past week has been crazy at school with me doing the national test while I was trying to get my Cambridge certificate, but I've been trying to write as much as possible! There haven't been to much action in this chapter but next chapter will be more adventures. Tegan will get more involved when Heath put his foot in to it big time. Read and review lovelies! Xx Lexie **


	12. Chapter 11 - fighter

Chapter 11 - fighter

She never really trusted anyone except her family with her feelings and thoughts and sometimes not even them, she was very guarded. But once she did, she did so wholeheartedly and when someone broke that trust it felt like she had been punched in the stomach. She had trusted Brax but he hurt her. The first time when he had lied on the record for Heath she had gotten over it because it wasn't directed to her directly and he had told her the truth. But this time, this time it was different. She had trusted him as her boyfriend with the rant and information of the pressure she was under and he had gone and given that information to someone who could use it against her.

She stormed out of the interrogation-room, slamming the door behind her before proceeding out of the station not stopping to answer the concerned questions coming from her brothers she met on the way out. Once outside she rounded the corner of the building before leaning against the wall and sinking to the ground. All the while Heath's voice kept ringing in her head. _"This is starting too look like harassment detective... You better watch out or else you will have other problems then just your bosses on your ass." _She only told one other person about the pressure from her bosses and that was Brax. She didn't know what to believe, had it all been a scheme? A way to use her or had he actually developed feelings for her?

All she really wanted to do was to go see him but she was in no state to drive all the way to the restaurant without crashing into anything. She kept sitting there for a while, trying to breath calmly and get her head together again. After about twenty minutes she felt somewhat stable and got of the ground, which wasn't the easiest when you were wearing a formfitting dress and heels. She got into her car and drove ore to the restaurant. The whole thing felt like déjà vu, she driving after work to sort something out, never a dull moment when she could just be happy and enjoy some normalcy. She shook her head and ran up the stairs to the empty restaurant and spotted Liam by the bar.

"Where's Brax?"

"He's in the office, some messed up delivery I think." She didn't really listen to the last bit she had already turned around and started towards the office. She burst in without knocking and found him sitting by the desk elbows deep in paperwork.

"Hey babe, now's not a really good time. As hot as you look in that dress I'm not really in the mood." He didn't bother look up from his papers for more than a fraction of a second so he didn't have time to register the look on her face.

"Yeah well after today I don't think I really care."

"What?" His head shoots up and he saw her, like actually saw her, for the first time that day.

"I saw Heath today down at the station and he said something very interesting.. Did you really think I wouldn't find out Brax?!" It looked like a lighting ball went of in his head cause his eyes went pleading and he got out of the chair and around the desk.

"Shit, I should have listened to Kyle! Babe listen, I know I should have told you but it was all history and I didn't see any point in worrying you!"

"Wait, what are you talking about?" His rambling made no sense what so ever and she looked at him like he had two heads.

"Me and Tegan? Wait, what are you talking about?"

"You and Tegan what? Didn't she use to be with Heath?" She got a nagging feeling in her stomach that that was not the entire truth. Why would he otherwise assume that that was what she was talking about, that that was what he was hiding. How much didn't he tell her really? He sighed and ran a hand down his face when it got clear to him that she didn't know.

"Me and Tegan were together. It weren't pretty at times, actually not at all, we fought all the time and the only thing we ever did was sex. We came from the same background so we stuck together but we broke up more times then I could count. She had Darcy and I thought it was with some bloke she chased up the coast but I later found out that it was with Heath and that was that. I never saw her again until she showed up last week." He sighed and moved towards her but when he saw her shrug back he winched and you could see the hurt in his eyes.

"Wow I didn't know that but thanks for letting me know that you have lied to me more then once." Her voice was bitter and cold and she refused to look him in the eyes.

"I know I should have told you but I never lied to you, I was just... I didn't tell you."

"So you just used me then? To save your brother?" He actually had the decency to act confused, like he had no idea what she was talking about. "Cause I have heard that you have been telling Heath about me and that we're after him. I trusted you with that because I needed to tell someone and you just broke that like it was nothing."

"I had to worn him, Charlie. He is still my brother and despite all the dumb things he has done I do not want to see him go inside. So yes I told him you would go after him even harder now that he has gotten away so many times." She still wouldn't let up and she could see that that clearly frustrated him and that he was getting closer and closer to anger and then he snapped. "But damn it Charlie! You cant keep going after my brother without it affecting us. It-It doesn't work that way!"

"I'm just trying to do my job!" She could see the finalisation and determination in his eyes and defeat came upon her. She didn't really know what she had expected when she came her, she was angry but was she really that angry that she wanted it all to end? But right now she didn't see another way out of it. So with a heavy heart she spoke in the steadiest voice she could muster without showing her true feelings now that the anger had disappeared and been replaced with disappointment. "But I guess if you can't handle that, then I honestly don't see any point here."

She didn't stick around to watch as her words sank in or give him time to respond she just turned around and walked out the door and drove back to the station, doing her best not to cry. Safely inside her office with her door locked she sits down at her desk and starts occupying her with work, shutting everything else of for the day, deciding that she will deal with it all when she gets home.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

He cursed as he heard the door close. He was angry with Charlie for thinking that he didn't care about her and would just use her. He was angry with Heath for not keeping his mouth shut, although if he knew him right he probably did it on purpose knowing it would cause some trouble. But most of all he was angry with himself for even getting in this mess in the first place, for hurting Charlie and for letting her walk out thinking it was over. He used to be able to handle these sort of things, he used to be able to keep his head clear without any distractions or emotions fucking everything up. But then again he had never met so many people that could get under his skin as the Summerbay people had. Charlie herself was the biggest reason, she had opened him up and then it had been a piece of cake for the rest of them to crawl right in.

He never considered many as his friends and that he could confide in, sure his brothers but other and that there hadn't been anyone. He hadn't been able to afford it, trust was very expensive to give out if you were at risk at being exposed all the time. But Jack had managed, it must be something in the Holden genes cause every person he now considered family were a Holden.

His chest tightened at the image of Charlie walking out that was on replay in his head and stopped him from doing his work probably. Eventually he gave up and put his feet on the desk and the papers instead and looked out his window that was facing the beach. He was just waiting for a call from Heath telling him to keep his girl in check, if he now even had a girl anymore which he wasn't to sure of. And just as he thought his phone started ringing. He didn't even bother looking at the display, already knowing it would be Heath.

"What Heath?" His voice sounded tired and defeated, not in the mood to deal with Heath.

"It's not Heath mate, it's me." Jack's voice rang through the phone. "I... Uhm, I'm just calling to tell you that Heath is not at the station anymore but that he might be in more trouble then before."

"What are you talking about mate?"

"I thought Charlie told you? She walked out of here after she had interviewed him." A frown spread across his face and the antsy tone in Jack's voice told him something wasn't quite right. Jack sounded stressed and worried.

"Is everything okay mate? You sound... I don't know, wired, down."

"Yeah, uhm you should probably get to hospital mate. I'm with Charlie right know and Pete is with Heath. Charlie got hit in the head so they looking at her right now, I don't know about Heath."

"Hospital?" He choked out. He could feel his stomach drop at words hospital, Charlie and hit to the head. He had seen her two hours ago, what could have possibly happened since then.

"Yeah, once we charged Heath on the drug charges he tore away from the officers that led him to the holding cells. He was having a banter with Charlie and he went for her, he managed to push her before someone tasered him. She hit the back of her head on the counter and he went into some sort of seizure." He worried about Heath of course but he couldn't help but want to kill him right now. He had went after Charlie and hurt her. He was already running around the room collecting his keys before running out the door and out to his car.

"I'm on my way mate." He hung up the phone and threw it on the passenger seat. His foot was heavy on the gas pedal and he was almost certain he broke every spread limit in the entire town.

The ride that would've normally taken about fifteen to twenty minutes took him just under ten minutes. During the entire ride he thought about his last encounter with Charlie and prayed to god that she was alright. Now he felt so stupid for telling Heath about Charlie's bosses when he didn't even listen, he was going down either way and he might lose Charlie too. He run through the corridors of the hospital, rounding a corner he spotted Jack and Ruby looking longingly at a door with worry written all over their faces. Panting he went over there, not bothering to check on Heath first. He just needed to know she was alright. He put his arm around Ruby and she leaned into him but her eyes never left the door.

"How is she?"

"We don't know." Her small voice came, you could tell that she had been crying. "She lost a lot of blood and she went unconscious in the ambulance on the way here. Heath's awake. Casey and Kyle are with him now, he's just down the corridor."

He nodded then looked at the door that lead to Charlie, down the hall and then at Jack who motioned for him that it was okay. He gave Ruby a squeeze before letting go and walking down the hall to were he could see two officers standing outside a room. They nodded at him and let him walk through the door. Inside was Kyle and Casey perched on either side of the bed, cracking jokes with a tired looking Heath. It must have bitten him pretty hard. They all stopped talking and looked up when he entered the room, Casey and Kyle acknowledge him before slipping out of the room knowing he would want to talk to Heath with out them hearing. He stood a few feet away from the bed, looking down at Heath with a clenched jaw in try of not saying anything stupid about Charlie that might tick him of. No matter how much he wanted to. His biggest priority where Heath was concerned right now was to make sure they were on good terms and that he and the boys would be safe if Heath happened to go inside. Which was most likely.

"What were you thinking mate? You knew they were after you..." He said in a voice that hid his anger and frustration very well if he said so himself.

"I know, I'm sorry I messed up." His voice was somewhat small and he genuinely looked sorry for one.

"It's not gonna be easy to get you out of this but I will try."

"Don't. Save your money. I messed up big this time, there's no way I'm gonna get off." If he was surprised with Heath's answer he didn't show it, but that was the most mature thing he had ever known Heath to do. Sacrificing himself for him and not the other way around.

"Okay but you stay strong yeah. Cause one wrong word... And we'll end up in a cell together."

"I wouldn't dob you in it. None of the boys would, you know that." He just nodded and stood there meeting his gaze until the officers came in and said it was time for him to go. With a nod as goodbye he walked back to were Jack and Ruby were, that Casey and Kyle now had joined, and sat down in one of the chairs that were lined up against the wall.

He had barley sat down when the doctor emerged from the room and told them they had stitched her up and that she was now awake if they wanted to see her. He let out a sigh of relief and sunk back in his chair, he watched as Jack and Ruby rushed into the room with smiles on their faces and Casey and Kyle followed as well, wanting to make sure she was okay. But he stayed put, he wasn't to sure she wanted to see him and if that was the case he didn't want to have a showdown in front of her family and his brothers. Not a minute later he saw Pete coming rushing through the halls, giving him a nod before bursting into the room were he could hear laughter coming out of the open door. After thirty minutes the door reopened and everyone came out. Pete and Jack gave him a nod before they made their way over to Heath's room, man he hated to be in Heath's shoes right now. Casey and Kyle left after a few quite words with Ruby who slumped down into one of the chairs next to him.

"You're not going in?" She turned towards him and smiled. "I know she would love to see you. And when you've done that you can drive us both home."

She nudged him and motioned to the door. That and the urge he had to make sure she was alright made him stand up in one motion and walk through the door without another thought. But once inside he froze. She was lying on the bed in her slightly messed up clothes, something that looked very much like bed hair after a busy night and big white bandage around her head. She turned her head slightly when she heard him come in and offered him a slight smile. At that smile he rushed over to her side and fused their lips together pouring everything into and eliciting a moan from Charlie.

"I'm sorry Charlie! I really am." She nodded and twined their fingers together with the hand he had placed beside hers on the bed.

"So are you here to rescue me or what?"

"You got it. You look really cute in that headband you're working there detective. Did I miss some new fashion trend?"

"Haha very funny!" She scrunched up her nose that cute way she does when she find something annoying. "Nah, it's to keep my head together, apparently it's falling apart."

"Don't joke about that Charlie. Now really how bad is it?"

"A couple of stitches and a concussion, nothing major. Will be fine after a few days rest."

"Alright then, let's get you home ay."

They walk out of the room to find that Ruby has already left, so they just finished of the paperwork and then they were off. The car ride back to tone was silent and awkward, he had tried to start up conversation but when he got one word answers and no help in taking it further he gave up. He knew it probably was because she was till angry with him but he was hoping it was because she was tired and that it would be over by tomorrow. He drove them back to his place so that he could watch over her during the night and not forcing Ruby to wake her up every two hours. She doesn't say anything when they arrive at his place, she just walks in and goes straight to his bedroom. He just sighs and walk in to the kitchen to get her a glass if water to her pain medication and to give her some time. Then he hear footsteps and she's walking towards the door without a second glance towards him.

"Where are you going?"

"Home. You already have company and I think three in your bed would be a little crowded." Her eyes were burning with fury and humiliation, the sight totally broke him. She looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here right now.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about your ex, that is currently laying naked in your bed!"

"WHAT?!"

"Are you honestly telling me you didn't know?"

"Yes! I swear to you Charlie, I know that doesn't mean much to you right know but I haven't been with Tegan since I moved here. Nor have I any desire to."

"Then explain to me why she is naked in your bed the same night that we have a fight that ends with us saying we're over?"

Her voice was at breaking point and her eyes started to water. He winched at her statement. She really had believed they were over, he had let her believe that they were over after she had found about him and Tegan. And now she found said woman in his bed after she had been banged up her head because of his brother. Things were not looking good for him at the moment. He was with her in a second and grabbed her upper arms to keep her somewhat close to him, he looked her straight in the eye and when she tried to evert her gaze he cupped her chin gently and held her in place.

They must have stood there for what seemed like forever just staring at each other but he took that opportunity to really see her for the first time. Her eyes had no walls and he could see how tired and defeated she felt. She didn't have the energy or the will to fight and he couldn't really blame her after the way he acted. But despite all that she still looked beautiful and he couldn't stop himself anymore. He leaned in and kissed her hard, trying to erase any doubts lingering in her mind. She moaned as he pushed his way into her mouth, not waiting for her to let him in. He was ruthless and demanding, he was desperate for her to know that he didn't want to lose her. His hands traveled over her waist and lower back as hers traveled up his chest into his hair, slightly massaging his skull like she used to and he almost burst with happiness. When they eventually had to break away for air he leaned his forehead against hers so that he could still meet her eyes, when all he wanted to do was burry himself in her neck while nibbling at her spot and calm himself with the smell of her.

"We are not over! We never were and as far as I'm concerned we won't be until you decide that you're tired of my stupid ass and dump me. Cause I'm sure as he'll not going to dump you." His voice was a low whisper cause that was all he could muster when out of breath but it still held the intensity he wanted so his point came across.

"Well... Should you tell _her_ or should I?"

"Wist right here! I'll be back in a sec."

With one final peck he reluctantly let go of her and strode over to his bedroom, and just as Charlie had said Tegan was lying on his bed naked. He refused to look anywhere but her face and since he refused to touch her he stayed were he was and hoped the glare in his eyes would do it for him.

"Is she gone?" Her voice was low and what back in the day would be used to seduce him and he would actually fall for it but now it just sounded wrong and made him cringe. He guessed everyone was right, once you found someone you really like and matter everyone else faded in comparison.

"What the hell are you doing here Tegan?"

"I thought it was obvious? But I could show you instead if you'd prefer."

"You need to leave right now. I'm about to take my girl to bed after she just got out of hospital, where she was put by the father of your daughter that is about to go to jail."

"You've fallen for her! Does she know she's being played?" She asked, amusement laced in her voice like she finally scored.

"I never used her. She means more to me then you'll ever know and I have liked her long before Heath got into the picture." He pinned her down with his glare and turned towards the door without letting her respond. "I'm giving you ten seconds to get out that front door or I swear to god Tegan, you won't know what hit ya."

He closed the door behind and I walked out to Charlie who stood were he had left her in the living room with a small but genuine smile on her face. He embraced her and buried his face in her hair and breathed her in. Ten seconds later Tegan came walking out looking at them with destain but walked out the door without a words once the door closed behind her he looked down at Charlie and smiled.

"Your girl ay?" She raised an eyebrow at him and her face serious but her eyes sparkled so he could tell she was actually happy of what she had heard. So he couldn't help but nod and smirk, he felt good about himself.

"Yeah, my girl." He cupped her cheek and kissed her tenderly before he grabbed her hand and lead her towards the bedroom. "And if I'm not mistaken I promised her I would take care of her tonight, even though she almost gave me a heart attack and almost caused me to have a car accident when I found out she was in hospital."

He just grinned at her when she glared at him and punched him I the shoulder without any force cause she had no energy left. He pulled of her blouse and high wasted skirt the he walked over to his dresser and pulled out one of his shirts and buttoned it up before laying her down on the bed under the covers. Then he undressed himself and crawled down next to her and pulled her close to him. He knew they wouldn't get much sleep cause his alarm would ring in about two hours and then two hours after that... But just holding her in bed made him relax and forget all about his day. This was relaxing. This was normal and familiar, he could lay there forever if he could.

**Sorry it's not the best chapter, it didn't quite turn out as it should have. But this whole week has been a shit-rocket high- stinking week and I'm just glad it's over. Nothing sounded good and I've been in a bad mood all week so this is what I came up with. Anyway next week will be more fluff and family, think we need some normal here don't you think? **

**Anyway hope you guys can overlook this excuse of a chapter and hang on till the next one which hopefully will be up soon if I stay in this writing mood for a few days. **

**Hope you all have had a better week then I have and thanks for all the reviews, you're awesome! Take care lovelies xx Lexie **


	13. Chapter 12 - The city

Okay so first of all I want to say sorry for the delay but, I have a very good reason too. I've been in negoation with a couple of book publishers. I got selected to the top ten, so I have been working with them for the last couple months, there for sucky updates. But now when that's over let's just hope it will improve.

Well when that's said, enjoy! Xx Lexie

Chapter 12 – The city

He had to go up early the next day to see Heath off before he was transferred. But despite it being early and having woken up every two hours during the night to check on Charlie he woke up to an cold and empty bed. He frowned when he couldn't find her in the room nor hear the shower running in the bathroom, something was wrong. He got out of bed to search the rest of the house and found her by the kitchen sink with a glass of orange juice, already fully dressed. When she heard him come in she barley looked at him before drowing the rest of her drink and putting it down in the sink.

"Going somewhere?"

"Yeah, I'm going home. I promised Ruby I'd let her take care of me today."

She offered him a small smile that he noticed was back to not reaching her eyes and that's when he knew that what he had said last night didn't have any lasting effects. When she went past him to walk out the door he grabbed her wrist and spun her around to face him. Her face was closed off again and he couldn't quite read her or make out what she was thinking.

"We're okay yeah?"

"Yeah of course!" She kissed him on the cheek and then went out the door.

When he heard the door slam close he sighed and went into the bedroom again where he sunk back down on the bed, just watching the ceeling for a minute before he reached over for his phone on the nightstand. He sent a text to Jack asking if he wanted to go for a surf, deciding to blow off Heath and instead blow off some steam and clear his head. Dropping the phone on the bed beside him he looked up to the ceeling again. Him and Charlie were not fine. People could probably see from miles away that something was wrong. You didn't avoid or sneak out if everything was alright.

He got a text back from Jack saying he would meet him on the beach so he got out of bed and put on his boardshorts, he was out the door in five minutes with his board under his arm. When he got to the beach Jack was already there waiting for him. He dropped down next to him on the sand with a huff and turned his attention out towards the water.

"You alright mate?"  
>"Nah."<br>"Then tell me you big sob!"  
>"It's Charlie. She's all off and distant. I get why, it's not that, but we talked last night after we threw Tegan out and everything was fine. But then this morning she was out the door before I had barley gotten out of bed."<p>

"Wait! Thrown out Tegan?" He started twisting the ring he had on his finger, wondering how much he should tell them but he knew Jack would eventually find out anyway. He refused to meet Jack's eyes, cause even though they are mates he was Charlie's brother and he knew how bad this looked.

"When we got out of the hospital last night I took her to my place, we hadn't really talked to eachother on the way and when we got inside she went straight to bed. Only when she got there someone was already there. Now before you say anything, I didn't do anything! Tegan had snuck in and lay naked on my bed and Charlie freaked."

"I would've loved to be a fly on the wall to see your face mate! Must have been priceless!"  
>"Hillarious." He glared at his laughing friend making him shut up before continuing his story. "Anyway I kicked her out after blurting out my feelings for Charlie and what Tegan and Heath's mistakes has cost me. Charlie got flattered and everything was fine untill this morning and all I did was wake up."<p>

"You broke her trust mate and that is never a good thing when it comes to Charlie. Trust means everything to her. Once you lie she starts to doubt everything."

It was like a punch in the gut. When Jack said it like that he finally understood what everything was about and he felt sick. He had really messed up this time. He had hurt her so bad and pushed her to believe that what they had wasn't real. She thought he had used her and that she didn't mean anything to him. That was what hurt the most. The fact that he had screwed up this much and hurt her. He could take that she doubted him but the she doubted them, that was what hurt. He felt like crying or screaming or something, anything to let out his feelings and frustration. He could only think of one thing right now and that was not that he had messed up. It was not the restaurant or Heath and the boys. The only thing he could think of right now was how he was supposed to fix it.

"What do I do?"  
>"You prove her wrong."<br>"Yeah I get that." He laughed. "But how?"  
>"Either you tell her that you love he-"<br>"Hang on, I never said that I loved her?!" He blurted out, eyes wide, not even caring that it was her own brother he was talking to. He cared for her a lot and right now when they weren't alright and things were all weird between them he felt somewhat broken… but love? No, he didn't do love.

"Don't deny it mate. Everyone can see that you love eachother except for you guys. You're to stubborn for your own good sometimes!"  
>"Fine. Whatever. How do I fix this?"<br>"You either tell her or you show her. Take her on a date, open up, romance. I don't know! I'm married, she always come back when I screw up, she can't get away from me."

They both laughed before Brax lost himself in his thoughts, trying to come up with what to do. He only stopped to get his board and to get out on the water. After an hour of surfing he knew exactly what he was gonna do. He was gonna start at the begining.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

She actually felt bad about leaving Brax the way she did this morning but her head was hurting from both the blow and the mental exhaustion. After finding Tegan in his bed last night and hearing everything he said she felt insanely happy, but when she woke up this morning she was reminded of the fact that maybe it wasn't true after all. That maybe, just maybe she couldn't trust him and the more she thought about it the more she believed that. She didn't want to doubt him, she wanted to trust him but she just couldn't. Her head and the cop in her was clearly saying to look at what was in front of her and what was obvious, that he was lying and that she should get out now before she got more badly hurt. But there was something stopping her. Something that was telling her that she was stupid, and that she knew better than that deep down. But right now she wasn't too sure of which feeling that was deep down.

When she arrived home after leaving Brax this morning Ruby was not even awake yet and her head was wound up for her to go back to bed so she settled with a glass of orange juice and the remote on the sofa. At eight she decided to start breakfast and put on a spread now that she had the time. Breakfast was one of the few things she actually could cook. So she started making waffles, slicing fruits and making toast before setting the table and waking up Ruby. They had a lovely time just me two of them and it actually took her mind of the real issue. After clearing the table from the breakfast they settled by the TV loaded with movies and for later a whole load of junk food.

In the middle of the first movie she could feel Ruby's eyes on her. She tried to ignore it but after five minutes and Ruby still hadn't stopped looking at her she sighed and paused the movie.

"Since when am I more interesting to watch then a movie?" She teased trying to sass out what she was after but Ruby's face remained serious.

"Are you and Brax okay?"  
>"Why do you ask?" Ruby looked pointedly at her and pointed at her with a finger in a triumphed gesture.<br>"See?! You didn't answer me! So tell me, what's going on with you two? I found him just sitting outside your room at the hospital not knowing if he wanted to go in or not. And now you're home early after spending the night, with him as your personal caretaker, and cooking breakfast. You never cook breakfast like that if it's not a special day!" She spoke everything in one breath, so when she ran out of air she sat there looking at her slightly puffed. "So yes, I know something's wrong."

"It's nothing!"  
>"So everything's fine then?" Ruby looked at her skeptically, not really believing a word she was saying.<br>"Yes! Now can we get back to the movie or else I might be tempted to go out for a run and you remember what the doctor said."  
>"Don't you dare!" Ruby said sternly, making her laugh, before she reluctantly turned back to the TV and un-paused the movie.<p>

The first movie ended and they put in the second one and brought out the popcorns. When her phone vibrated for the second time since they sat down to watch the movies and the display showing she had another text from Brax, she sighed and threw the phone on the table in front of her. The entire scene didn't go unnoticed from Ruby who had watched her every movement and reaction like a hawk.  
>"Who is it?"<p>

"No one."  
>"If it's Brax it's okay if you answer." She pressed.<br>"Drop it Rubes."  
>"Not until you tell me what's going on!"<p>

They stared at each other neither of them backing down. Could she tell Ruby about Brax without it causing too much trouble? She was the one with the issue not him. Eventually she gave in, not having the energy to argue with her stubborn teenage daughter.

"He did something that made me question us, if he's even serious with me or just stringing me along. He says he's not… but I'm not so sure if I can trust him."  
>"Why?"<br>"What he did and with his family's track record I'm not sure I can Rubes."  
>"Okay well firstly that's rude and judgmental. Secondly, you know him and he wouldn't do that to you!"<p>

Ruby looked at desperately, and slightly disappointed, pleading for her to see sense. Charlie could see it in her eyes how desperately she wanted them to stick to it.  
>"What if I don't Rubes?" The guy I thought I knew would not do what he did. I want to believe him so bad, but what if I'm wrong and he hurts me? I don't think I could handle that."<br>"Because you love him." Her words were gleeful and as she considered what Ruby said she realized that she was right. She loved him and that's why she didn't really believe that he wasn't who she thought he was. The logical part of her told her to look at the obvious in front of her that clearly pointed her to the fact that he was lying and that she should get out while she could. While there was something deeper that kept telling her that she did knew him and that he wouldn't do that to her and that she should believe him. But she had to choose. She could either take a chance and risk getting hurt or she could get out now, somewhat unharmed no matter what the outcome.

Lost in her thoughts she didn't notice Ruby's gleeful smile or the fact that she turned the TV off and left her alone on the couch only to return a few moments later with her phone. She held it out in front of her, waiting for her to take it.

"Call him. Call him and tell him what you just told me and give him a chance to explain himself." She took the phone and stared at it, pounding at what she should do. "But most of all trust him and trust yourself. You know him and he makes you happy. Let yourself be happy."

"When did you get so wise huh?" She said with a small laugh stunned by the teenager's words. Ruby just smiled and left her alone in the room with her phone still in her hand. She stared at it for several minutes as if it would call by itself or for Brax to just automatically call so she didn't have to make the first move. But she knew she had confused, and maybe even hurt him this morning and that he would give her space to make up her mind.

Taking a deep breath she dialed Brax's number without waiting a second longer to press call. She had missed him today and even yesterday, despite them only being away from each other for a couple of hours. But she didn't like it when they were like this, all weird and awkward with each other. She hated them fighting, cause once she got over the anger all she wanted to do was crawl up next to him. Cause then she knew that she would be alright.

She waited nervously for the dial tone to be intercepted by his deep voice that could send her to her knees. She taped her foot fervently, biting on her lip and nearly drawing blood, just waiting for her doom.

"Hello?"  
>"Hi, it's me."<br>"Hi." She could almost hear the relief in his voice and it almost brought tears to her eyes. "Are you okay?"  
>"Yeah." She almost shocked out, suddenly finding it hard to speak.<p>

"I miss you." Her voice was small and she realized how ridiculous she sounded.  
>"I know it's stupid but I just do. I just… I don't know, freaked out and needed some time."<br>"It's okay Charlie!"

That's where he was wrong. It was not okay. But she kept quiet, not wanting to have this conversation over the phone and she knew better to do it now than later.  
>"Can I see you?" She asked hesitantly, hoping he wasn't to mad and wanted to fix it as well.<p>

"Of course, are you at home?"  
>"How about I come to you?" She said quickly. Wanting an escape route if things didn't go very well and she couldn't do that if they were at her place.<br>"Sure, but shouldn't you be resting?" He sounded hesitant and she couldn't blame him.  
>"Yes. But fresh air would do me good. So the pier in fifteen?"<p>

When she arrived at the pier, after changing into a new flowy maxi dress, Brax was already standing there waiting impatiently. He was leaning his forearms against the railing, twisting his ring on his forefinger while talking quietly to himself. She smiled and approached him carefully, even though all she wanted to do was run and throw herself in his arms. He turned when she stopped a few feet away, wearing a hesitant smile on his face. His fingers didn't stop twitching with the ring on his face and she knew he was as nervous as she was. He didn't know how to act either.

But seeing him standing there looking all handsome in battered jeans and a dark blue t-shirt and those grey eyes pleading with her she didn't care anymore. Closing the distance between them she sneaked her arms around his waist and buried her face in the crock of his neck, breathing in the familiar scent of him. His arms came up automatically around her and her tight to his chest. She felt his lips at the top of her head and she clung tighter to him. They just stood there for several seconds just holding each other. Him running a hand over her hair, and she running hers up and down his back.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled into his chest, her voice slightly muffled by his shirt. "I shouldn't have run out on you like that, it wasn't fare."

He pulled away slightly and placed his hands on either side of her neck.  
>"You have nothing to be sorry for! You were hurt and trying to make sense of it all. I'm the one that messed up."<br>He kept her head steady with his hands and swooped in and pressed their lips together hard, prying her lips apart to tangle his tongue with hers. After a minute he broke away, leaning his forehead against hers, leaving her breathless.

"What was that for?" She whispered without breaking their closeness.  
>"If we really are over I wanted to walk away with something good and not a fight as a reminder."<p>

"I want to trust you and I know I can trust you. It's just when you don't do things like this that make it really hard." She could feel him tense up and trying to pull away but she held on tighter. "I was ready to walk away. But later I realized I couldn't, despite having perfectly good reason. Something was stopping me. I didn't want to believe that you could have fooled me about our relationship. I knew deep down that you weren't that guy." She took a deep calming breath. She came here ready to be bold so that was what she was going to do. "I was talking with Ruby and she made me realize what was holding me back. Despite everything and against my better judgment and somewhere along the line I fell in love with you. I'm in love with you Brax."

She looked up at him trying to gather his reaction. He was clenching and unclenching his jaw like he always did when he tried to control himself. His arms had an iron hold on her and his eyes were looking over her head. Just as she opened her mouth to speak he leaned in and kissed her. She didn't know what to expect but that was not it. The kiss was a possessive yet tender and it sent her soaring. He was holding nothing back. He had given her kisses before to show her how he felt, but not like this. There was no walls at all, everything was so overwhelming she thought she might explode. When they broke apart he buried his face in her neck and pulled her as near as possible.

"Say that again!"  
>"What? You want me to say all that again?"<p>

"No you tease" He said as he attacked her sides, making her squeal and squirm in his embrace. "Just that last part. I liked it very much."

"Oh you did ay?"

"Yeah."

She leaned in closer so that their lips was only a mere breath away from each other's, her arms sneaking up his chest and circling around his neck.  
>"I believe that I've fallen in love with you Mr. Braxton"<br>"I believe I've fallen in love with you too."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

When he dropped her off at home to change after their talk by the pier felt so happy yet there was this guilt eating at him. He had almost lost her by lying to her and breaking her trust, yet he still continued to not tell her the truth. He tried to convince himself that he was telling her what mattered but he knew better. He felt sick knowing that her trust for him was half based on a lie, and all he was doing for her was a surprise dinner in the city when he could actually tell her the truth. But he knew that meant losing her and he was to selfish to do so.

He was back at her place after half an hour, changed and everything in order. He waited outside, leaning against the car for her to make an appearance. After a few minutes he heard footsteps drawing nearer and soon enough Charlie came around the corner. The sight of her made him realize how lucky he really was. She had let her hair out and run a straightener through it, making it reach her lower back. Her dress was different from the professional once she wore to work. It was a teal colored number with no sleeves that ended mid-thigh. It had straight lines making it look square-like without hiding her curves. She was drop dead gorgeous.

He drew in a sharp breath and pushed himself off the car to open the door, giving himself a chance to cool down. When he turned back around he was met by her eyes, sparkling with mirth and she was doing her best to contain her laughter. She knew exactly what she was doing that little minx.

"Get in the car." He said with his eyes narrowed and that was all it took for her to burst into laughing. Her laugh was pretty contagious and he couldn't help but join her. "Get in so I can feed you and take you back to my bed."

"There's food? Well why didn't you just say so?" She jumped into the car, leaving him standing there with a goofy smile. It was these little things that mattered to him and made him soft when it came to Charlie. Their teasing and their banter never failed to improve his mood.

They kept the small talk and teasing banter going during the car ride. There was a lot of laughter and subtle touches. Like hand holding when he wasn't shifting gears and every once in a while she would stroke his cheek while gazing into his eyes without them saying a word. Finally after driving for two hours they arrived in the city and he drove into the parking lot outside the club. Charlie looked out the window and then back to him in astonishment.

"What are you doing? Why are we here?" She looked confused, happy and astonished at the same time while demanding answers and he couldn't help but keep her in the dark a little longer.

"It's a surprise. Come on, out you get." He was out of the car before she could respond and by her side in a second helping her out. They went into the club and through the entry into the big barroom. He looked down to cop her reaction.

He had gotten one of the boys that worked there on the weekends to set up a table in the middle of the room and to fix some food. The lights were dimmed and music was playing in the background. It was cheesy, lame and if it had been anyone else he would've mocked the hell out of them. But he found himself wanting to do this for her. He didn't want to risk losing her because he was his usual stubborn self and not tell her how he feels. And he since he was more of an action kinda guy than a word guy, this was it.

She turned around, her mouth agape and watery eyes.  
>"What is all this?"<br>"I know I'm not the easiest bloke in town to get along with and I'm not really good at this romance thing… But I figured girls likes dinner and this is where I met you, so I guess it fit."  
>"How did you manage to pull this off?"<br>"Well I do own the place Charlie, so I can do whatever I want."

After having looked around the room, taking it all in, she turned to him again with a big smile on her face. Her arms went around his waist and he tried to remain still as she leaned up and pressed her lips to his.  
>"You are a very surprising man Mr. Braxton. But I like it."<br>"You love it." He couldn't help but repeat.  
>"That I do."<p>

The rest of the night was spent by eating and continuing the flirty atmosphere they had in the car. Every once in a while they would have a serious moment but it was all good. After they were done eating and he came out of the kitchen after clearing the dishes he found her sitting on one of the barstools just like that night. Her long legs on display and her slender feet strapped up in gold heels that helped define her legs. She was looking at him over the rim of her wineglass with an come-hither look that could get any man on his knees.

"I should really thank the manager of this place." Her voice was husky and sent shivers through his body. He knew the wine had a big part of it and had done it's work for the night. Getting them both worked up and more up front and flirty.

"And why is that?"  
>"Cause both times I've been here I've had the time of my life and walked out of here lucky." He walked up to her and stood in between her legs as close to her as possible, their faces just a few inches apart.<p>

"Well I'll let him know. I'm sure he'll be happy to hear you appreciate his services." "Thank you! Now take me home and I might feel you up in the car."  
>"Oh you won't have to wait that long babe." He kissed her quickly before pulling her up from the chair he led her out of the club and across the street to the building he had taken her all those months ago.<p>

The apartment had not been used since that night and the evidence was still there he had not thought of making the bed when he left the next morning. Charlie's reaction was priceless, she looked at him like he was crazy.

"This was us?" She pointed towards the mess of sheets and pillows in the middle of the bed.

"Yeah" He grinned. "You don't remember it from sneaking out? Let me refresh your memory then." He grabbed her by the waist and threw her on the bed making her bounce up and down. As he crawled up to her on the bed and hovered over her a huge smile spread across her face. A sight that made his heart contract. She was right the club was surley something cause right now he was the happiest he'd ever been.

"I love you beautiful!"  
>"I love you too."<p> 


	14. Chapter 13 - The storm

**Hello Guys! How are you? I am so insanely happy cause I have only four more days of work then I get my cash and can enjoy my summer for real! Anyway here's an update, I feel like I have lost my sting and inspo so gladly make any suggestions on how I could spin it cause I need some more fill ins before the finale and a more planned guideline for it then I already have. Well hope you guys enjoy it even if it was a bit hasty put together, it's not my best work. Xx Lexie **

Chapter thirteen – The storm

Things were good right now, real good actually. With Heath inside things were calm and he didn't have to watch over his shoulder all the time. He could just focus on the restaurant and his family. He and Charlie were good, great actually, after their time in the city and they were spending ridiculous amount of time together as Kyle would say. Even though he would complain about it he knew he didn't mind. He had noticed Kyle go and talk to Charlie several times when something was bothering him. They were spending more and more time at his place and between his place and the Holden's next door there was always someone coming or going. He had found himself more than once sitting on the couch with Ruby, watching a movie when Charlie was working late. They would have barbeques with everyone and they were all invited to the Holden family days. Everything had this domestic feeling and he wouldn't have it any other way.

The only thing that could change was Tegan. She was still hanging around town with Darcy, trying to rob their faces in it. She had gotten to Cheryl, using Darcy as leverage. Cheryl had never liked Tegan but if it stood between Tegan or a cop, Tegan won. But despite Tegan's presence things were good. Two months without the drama, and hopefully counting.

Currently he was at work with Kyle, setting up for some private function later tonight. Casey and Ruby were away somewhere with Charlie, celebrating that they were finished with school. Even though he was stuck at work he weren't too upset about it. The weather was awful. The sky was grey, almost black and it was cold despite it being summer. He was having so much more fun interrogating Kyle anyways.

"So what were you talking to Charlie about the other day?"  
>"What is it to you?"<br>"When your girlfriend leaves you hanging on the couch to talk to your brother you start to worry."

"Well she just want to ask when we would meet up the next time." That earned him a smack on the back of his head as he walked past to get the napkins.  
>"Watch it!" He growled.<p>

"Haha no…" His laugh faded out and his face became sullen."Ehm no, Tamara's leaving town. She's going back home and I didn't really know what to do. Charlie saw me after Tamara told me, so I talked and she gave some advice that's all."

He nodded and let Kyle turn back to work. He could see that it troubled him. Sure Kyle and Tamara had had some hard times lately but that didn't mean it wasn't though when she decided to move or make him like her less.  
>"So what happens now then? When she leaves I mean."<p>

"We ended it." He sighed but didn't turn to face him. "She's leaving tomorrow.  
>"Sorry mate!"<br>"Yeah, well it is what it is. I'm gonna take the trash out." He said as he put down the last napkin before turning to the kitchen and coming out with the black plastic bags. "I'll be back in a sec."

He took these seconds to check his phone to see if he had gotten anything from Charlie. The only thing was that Casey and Ruby were home and she was off to work for the late shift. Seeing that he decided he could just stay at work as well. When Kyle got back up they started moving crates, refilling the bar and so what. They ran back and forth between the storage and the bar for about two hours before they were done. By then it had really started ti blow up outside. He couldn't see anyone walking the beach, not even a lifeguard. The waves that were rolling in were huge and the banderols and stuff were making smacking noises. It had also started raining, the windows were filled with droplets. He sighed knowing he would have to go out in that to get to his car.

He kept starring out the window until he heard quick footsteps coming up the stairs and hushed voices. In through the door came a blond bombshell of Tegan who was dragging poor Darcy after her.  
>"Okay so you stay here with uncle Brax and uncle Kyle, mommy just has to go and do something."<p>

Darcy nodded and looked from him to Kyle carefully. What they hell was going on? Tegan kissed her on the forehead before turning around and rushing out of there before they had time to register what happened.  
>"Tegan?!" He shouted after her as he rushed towards the stairs but she was already gone. He ran down after her but as he reached the doors he almost collided with a wet Alf as he came in.<p>

"You should stay inside young fella, there's a storm coming and you would be better off in here."  
>"If there's a storm I have to get Ruby and Casey!"<br>"Don't worry. They're with Tony, I just spoke to him." He patted him on the shoulder as he passed to shrug off his orange SRC jacket. So he did as he was told, he turned back upstairs to fins Kyle sitting by one of the tables trying to entertain Darcy with the stuff she had in her bag. When he sensed him come in he looked up questioningly but he just shook his head in annoyance. Picking up his phone from the counter he dialled Tegan's number but didn't get an answer.

"There's a storm coming in." He said turning back. "Alf said we should stay put."  
>"I know. Tonight's booking just called and cancelled."<p>

Nodding he slumped down on a chair and tried to reach Tegan once more.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

It had been a relatively calm day at the station so she could devote herself to her never ending pile of paperwork what was occupying her desk. She had also a chance to take another crack at the puzzle on the whiteboard that had grown as time passed. But she wasn't any closer to cracking it anyway. She had filled Jack in too, so him and Pete had been helping her along.

Pushing away her rolling chair away a bit from the desk she stretched out her legs and looked out the window. It was raining and blowing pretty hard out now. When they had heard that there was a storm coming over the radio she had sent the other officers home to their families. She had a feeling it would be a pretty quiet night and she could call them if she needed them.  
>So now she was alone at the station while the wind was shaking the walls and making creepy sounds. She wasn't easily frightened when it came to storming down buildings head first with thugs and guns. But when it came to horror and scary movies she was a wimp. Brax had tried to get her to watch one with him. It had ended with her sitting in his lap and her head buried in his chest, clutching his shirt the entire time. He had laughed and mocked her, saying that he had no idea how she became a cop.<p>

Smiling at the memory she went out to refill her coffee. Just as she had set down in her chair again she heard some sort of domestic coming from the entry. She sighed and walked out of her office once more, only to find a drenched Tegan standing there. Her clothes were dripping and her mascara had run down her face making her look like a racoon.

"Tegan? Wh-What are you doing here?"  
>"Oh great! It's you." She sounded just as disappointed as she felt. She had probably hoped it to be anybody else here.<p>

"I repeat. Why are you here?"  
>"A tree had fallen down and is blocking the road, so I'm stuck and this were the only building."<br>"Okay." She nodded and turned back to the office and sat down by her desk again. Unfortunately Tegan followed and sat on the chair across her desk.  
>"So what are you doing?"<p>

"I'm working." She said without lifting her eyes from the papers to meet Tegan's that she could feel on her the whole time.  
>"Hm, yeah…" her voice was slightly calculating like she had an ulterior motive with this conversation. "That was more Brax's thing. He was a man, provided for me and so on."<br>"That was nice of him." Not taking the bait, hopefully it would irritate her as a bonus.

"Yeah it was" She said nonchalantly like she wasn't too bothered. She studied her nails trying to act casual. The key word was acting. Charlie could see right through her. She wanted something. The question was just what. "So how are you and Brax anyhow?" So that was what it was about. Brax.

"We're good. Thank you for asking."  
>"That's nice. But you know it's just a matter of time right?" She wore a pleased smile but it was wiped away immediately when the window next to them burst and glass was flying everywhere. The wind and rain came into the room twirling papers around, making a huge mess. Calming down from the shock she moved quickly and pushed the shelf that stood next to the window in front of it instead. She turned back to Tegan and looked at her pointedly. She was interested in what she had to say despite better judgement. She was still angry with her cause unlike Brax, who had apologised, she had given her no reason not to.<p>

"You were saying?"  
>"It's only a matter of time before he comes back to me. He always does in the end. He gets it in his head he want something else, so I let him have his fun. Cause I know that when he gets bored he still wants me."<p>

"Doesn't it bother you, to be his go to? That he takes you for granted?"  
>"No. Because I love him and he loves me. The way it's supposed to be. So you should prepare yourself. It's just a matter of time. He would never stay serious with a cop, he always has a plan my man."<p>

Charlie was only listening with half an ear cause there were these weird sounds and it didn't sound good. It could just be the fact that the window was now none existent but it wasn't the wind, it sounded like wood being moved back and forth. Something wasn't right. Shaking off the feeling she tuned Tegan in again who was sitting looking very smug with herself.  
>"You know what? You believe what you want, I do not care"<p>

She sat down again trying to call Ruby to see if she was doing alright at her dads. But she only got the dial-tone, the storm must be really strong. She was just about to take another look at her papers when the same sound appeared, only this time it was louder. A lot louder. She looked around the room, trying to identify the noise. Then everything moved as in slow motion. There was another sound and then all she could see was the roof tumbling down. Planks, metal bars, the lot and an ear piercing sound. The whole thing only took a couple of seconds but for her it felt like minutes. Her heart raced up, her breathing became shallow as the panic rose. She closed her eyes, preparing herself for the impact. And then it came. It became dark, she couldn't see anything, only feel something heavy trapping her and she could feel herself loosing conciseness. That's when she remembered Tegan. She tried to call out but she could barely find her voice and she could feel herself drifting further and further away. Then it all became black.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

They had descended downstairs when more people started to drop in. Apparently it had become headquarters for the rescue team of missing people. There were people handing out blankets and water to persons who were drenched to the bone. People crying in relief when a loved one came stumbling in through the doors. He himself were pretty calm. He had talked to both Ruby and Casey, they were both saying they were fine at Tony's. Kyle was with him and he knew Charlie would be safely inside the doors of the station. The only thing that disturbed him was that he hadn't heard from her, but he figured she was just busy or something. He had not seen or heard from Tegan either, leaving him stuck to look after Darcy.

Alf and John were running around from tables with equipment to the radio and from the radio to the whiteboard were they drew lines on different maps, marking off what they had done and what they had left to do.

There came a static noise from the radio in the corner just as they were discussing something over by the maps. They dropped everything and rushed over, Brax couldn't really be bothered. That thing had been ringing all night and nothing mayor had happened. But after a few minutes and they started to wave over others from the team he realised that this time was different. Curious he went over there, they said one word that made his body froze up. Police station. All he could think about was Charlie, who he hadn't heard from.

He grabbed a hold off Alf when the group dissolved and stared at him with frantic eyes. He had never been so scared his entire life. He could lose her, not like if he screwed up and she didn't want anything with him but actually lose her. For good. With no second chance were she would forgive him for his screw ups.  
>"Alf, what's going on?!"<p>

Alf looked at him sadly and you could tell he was stressed and only keeping up a calm front. "The rescue team found and abandoned car on the road by the station. So they thought they would check there. Only when they got there, there was not a station left."

"Wh-what are you talking about no station?!" The panic he had been trying to hold down by telling himself it was nothing was rising at rapid pace as he waited for Alf to speak.

"The roof caved in mate. There's nothing left, the whole thing is in shambles."  
>"Charlie." He choked out, he could barely stand up it took everything he had.<br>"What was that mate?"  
>"Charlie. Charlie's in there."<p>

"Okay we'll get her but we have to leave now."  
>"I'm coming with! And don't argue with me, I will go anyway."<p>

Alf pondered on it for a while and Brax could see on his body language when he gave in. "Fine. I guess we could use another pair of hands."

Quicker than lightning he had grabbed a jacket and was rushing out the door with the others anxious to get to Charlie and make sure that she was alright. The entire car ride there he was sitting tensely in his seat, listening to Alf as he communicated with the people already on site over the radio. They were waiting for back up from the fire department that was a few minutes away. He felt angry for them not doing anything but chose to be wise and not say anything, cause he knew it wouldn't do any good and that he was only being irrational.

When they drew nearer he saw flashing blue lights from the fire truck that lit up the place. Men with helmets were running around the building with large saws and other devices they could use to move the rubble out of the way. People were pointing and yelling to one and other over the rain, trying to figure out the best way to go about it.

The car had barely stopped when he flung his door open and jumped out of the car. Running towards the building he stopped a few feet away, not sure what his plan was. As he looked over the building he was filled with dread. The roof had literally demolished the building to the ground. It had cracked in the middle and caved in, causing the walls to give into the pressure and cave in as well. It scared him to think that somewhere, beneath all those metal bars and beneath all that wood, Charlie was buried. And she may or may not be alive.

He watched as the guys started moving things away with cranes to make the process as smooth as possible. It took them at least half an hour if not more for them to clear an entrance and somewhat stabilise the building so that they could run in there and look for people. As soon as he got the all clear he ran in there determined to find Charlie. But it turned out to be quite impossible. It was dark, you could barely see your own hand in front of you and you had to push and shove things to get through. He fumbled his way through the rubble when he stumbled upon something. Bending down so that he could get a closer look, he shrugged back by the sight. He knew that blonde hair, he knew that face. That was Tegan. What the hell was she doing here?

After a few fatal attempts at waking her up he yelled out for help and a few minutes later there were two more people in the small, crowded space. They lifted, pulled and tugged trying to remove her body from under the rubble. When they finally got her out they put her on a stretcher and carried her out. Outside there were even more people than before. Ambos had arrived including some more rescue cars, but the sight that really got him to stop and almost drop the gurney was the person who was reluctantly being loaded into one of the ambos. Charlie. She was okay apart from some cuts here and there and her arm looking a little funny. He handed over Tegan quickly to the ambo personal before running over to the truck Charlie was being loaded into. At first he was going to throw himself at her, just so that he could relish the feeling of having her in his arms but thought better of it at the last second. He settled instead for sitting down next to her and grabbing a hold of her hand. It was warm and soft, just as it supposed to be. He refused to meet her eyes though, still not really over the fact that he had come close to losing her.

"Are you okay?" He asked bashfully, so low that he could almost not hear it himself over all the noise around them.  
>"I'm fine, so you can take me home so that I don't have to go to the hospital."<br>"Are you crazy?!" He looked up at her in a flash, his eyes wide with horror. She must have knocked her head or something in the crash. "You were just rescued out of a collapsed building, Charlie. You're going to the hospital!"

As he spoke a paramedic jumped in and closed the door behind him and a few seconds later they were rolling away. She glared at him but he just smiled smugly, making her cross her arms over her chest, which wasn't a good idea giving the state of her arm. She winched in pain, alerting both him and the medic of her state.  
>"Fine my ass you stubborn woman! Just wait until Jack and Pete finds out about this."<br>"You're not doing anything to cheer me up you know." She pointed out grumpily, trying to mask the gasps of pain she let out as the paramedic looked over her arm. He had to bite the inside of his cheek to remain calm. He hated seeing her in pain, especially if there was nothing he could do to make it better like right now.

When they arrived at the hospital she was put in a room and looked over by a doctor, doing a bunch of test and so on. Pete arrived along with Jack, Casey and Ruby. They went away for coffee, read a magazine and went for a walk around the halls before the doors to her room opened again and she was wheeled out on a bed followed by a bunch of nurses and the doctor. The doctor told them that they were on their way to surgery to fix her arm. He watched the back of the nurses as they wheeled Charlie through the double doors that led to the surgery, ready for another wait.

They sent Jack away to take Casey and Ruby home after they found out that she was going to be alright, they didn't see the point in everybody staying. Kyle had arrived after Connie had come and picked up Darcy and had yet to leave. He was currently away getting coffee in the wait to hear something about Tegan who had gone straight to surgery as soon as they had arrived. And that was a little over three hours ago. Despite the fact that he could not stand her and he would gladly never see her again, she was still family and he would never wish for her to die or for Darcy to be without her mother.

The longer it took for them to hear anything the more worried he got. After another hour Sid eventually emerged, from behind the same doors as Charlie and Tegan had been wheeled through, with a grim look on his face. He didn't need to hear it, he already knew. She was dead. He sunk back on his chair and leaned his elbows on his knees, not really sure of what he was supposed to do. Next to him Kyle got up and paced the corridor a few times back and forth before sitting down again. Pete patted his back and gave him a sympathetic look but he kept still and just looked at the wall in front of him.

This was ridicules. He felt sad and yet he didn't. He had known her all her life, since they were kids but recent developments had caused a rift between the two. A part of him was grieving a childhood friend while another part of him had just lost a distant relative he had no relationship with what so ever. But before he could pounder on it for too long Charlie was being wheeled back out. Both him and Pete stood up and followed the bed towards a room where they were asked to stay outside so that they could settle her. When they came back out they said she would wake up at any moment but that she might be slightly confused because of the drugs. After giving the doctor their thanks they sat down and waited. Kyle came in a little later after he had called Connie to let her know about Tegan and by the look on his face it had not gone so well. He could only imagine Connie's reaction and let's not talk about Darcy's reaction.

There was a groan coming from the bed and when he looked over there he saw movements under the sheets. Rising from his seat he went over to the bed and leaned on the edge so that he could peer down on her face. Her eyelids fluttered and soon enough her gorgeous blue eyes opened and looked straight at him.

"There she is!" Pete said quietly from behind him as he peered down over her shoulder.  
>"Hi." She croaked out, still a little groggy from just waking up, her eyes never wavering from his as if she was expecting him to talk.<br>"Hi." He whispered not too sure of what he was supposed to say or do but he kept looking into her eyes, which he probably couldn't look away from even if he wanted to. There was an awkward silence until Kyle declared that he should go home and Pete followed claiming that he needed a lift home since he rode with Jack here. So soon enough the door closed behind them and they were left alone.

"You should go too. Get some sleep, it's late." She said as she grabbed a hold of his hand on top of the bed.  
>"Nah I'm good." He said and leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her lips like he had been craving all day since he left for work this morning. "What am I gonna do with you woman? I leave you alone and you have a building collapse around you."<br>"Haha, sorry." She laughed. "But I wasn't exactly planning on being stuck in my office with your ex…"He froze as she mentioned Tegan and it was like she caught herself as she spoke, remembering that Tegan had been in there with her.

"Why was Tegan there in the first place Charlie?" He asked suspiciously. He did not have a good feeling about this. Tegan and Charlie had hated each other so he could not see why they would both be alone somewhere of good intentions. He knew it was most likely Tegan that had searched Charlie out, but who knows maybe Charlie had wanted to say something to Tegan. And the look on Charlie's face did not make it easier to decide. She looked down slightly guilty, like she was hiding something from him or didn't want him to get upset, whether it was her fault or not. He pointed her with his stare and he could see her resolve crumble down as she wrecked her brain trying to remember the full story.

"She came in after I had sent the others home, saying something about having to abandon her car. Then she started to talk about you and her, trying to get under my skin or something and then before I knew it the roof was caving in on us." She closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them just a crack again. "How- Did Tegan get out, is she okay?"

"Babe…" He closed his eyes in slight pain, trying to muster up the courage to tell her what had happened, ripping of the bandage to get it over with. "She didn't make it."  
>"What?"<br>"She was in surgery for hours before she arrested at the table. There was nothing they could do." He looked down on their hands while tilting his head to the side to distract himself and trying to seem unaffected. Her hand came up to his face, stroking his cheek making him look up at her in surprise.  
>"I'm sorry Brax."<p>

She had a sad smile and at that moment he realised that she understood his conflicted feelings, that she understood him, and that she found it okay if he was upset, that that did not matter to her. He shook himself out of his trans and leaned in and kissed her, hard. He shocked himself with the emotions he felt and the gratitude towards her, so to keep him slightly sane he did the thing he did best, a diversion to avoid talking about it or bring it up. But he knew one thing for sure, he was happy and he was really glad he had taken a chance.

**Next chapters: **Tegan's funeral will take place and cause an even bigger riff between the Braxton brother's but bring Brax's new family even closer. Charlie will come closer to the truth but is having a hard time accepting it and it might put her slightly in danger. And what will Heath do to mess things up even from behind bars?


	15. Chapter 14 - Happy

**A new update guys! So a lot of things will go down in the next few chapters as I am trying to round it all up and finish this story since I seem to have lost my inspiration and lust for this story. Might do some sort stories instead with only four-five chapters instead. That way maybe I won't get so bored and lose my ideas and spin offs! The story didn't turn out quite like I imagined it to but I hope you guys liked it anyways. Xx Lexie**

~ Chapter fourteen ~ Happy ~

After spending two whole days at the hospital, doing tests that involved all kinds of pulling and poking, she was finally going home. It would be nice to go home and sleep in her own bed but she had also not stressed to go home, still being tiered from the surgery. For once she had actually let the doctors do their jobs without complaint, surprising both them and her family.

They had all been there to keep her company. Her dad and Beth, her brothers, Ruby, the girls and the Braxton's. They came and occupied her entire room, bringing food, hovering her bed and just generally making a lot of noise. But she wouldn't have it any other way, they brightened up her day, made it all bearable. Brax had topped that list though, being nothing but amazing. He had stayed long after the others left. When the others left them alone and went home he would lay down next to her on the bed. Sometimes they would talk and laugh about all or nothing and sometimes they would just lay quiet, watching and touching each other. And before she knew it two days had passed and she was being released. The papers were signed and now she was just waiting for her dad to finish talking to Sid so that she could leave.

Once they were done her dad helped her with her things out to the car and then they were off. They made small talk about the aftermath of the storm and what everyone was doing to help the recovery work. She found herself relaxing at the familiar and safe atmosphere that came around whenever she was around her father.

"So you and Brax are getting pretty serious ay?"  
>"I guess you could say that." She said blushing and looking away from her father's inquiring gaze. Discussing your relationship with your father was just as embarrassing when you're thirty as when you're seventeen.<p>

"I practically had to fight him off so that he would go to work and let me pick you up. He seems quite taken by you."  
>"Yeah I'm quite into him as well." She said with a bashful smile she did her best to hide but Tony caught anyway.<br>"Are you happy sweetie?"

She turned towards him, meeting his eyes for a split second and she could practically feel the happiness radiating from her. "Yes, I'm very happy!" A smile grew on her face and it was like she really realised it for the first time. Sure she knew she was happy before, but the gratitude of it all hadn't come to her before now. It was the first time someone actually asked her and made her think about it. "He makes me happy dad." She said almost sounding surprised, happily surprised.

"I know sweetie. It's about time someone did don't you think?"

They exchanged smiles and continued the drive to her house in silence. He helped her inside and into her bedroom so that she could settle into her bed. He stayed with her for a while as she started a movie but they didn't watch for too long cause she could feel herself drifting off. She faintly heard him say goodbye and kissed her on the forehead. She woke again when she felt the smell of food right under her nose. When she came to it she found Kyle standing above her, dangling a bag from Angelo's which she guessed and hoped contained food.

"What are you doing here kid, and in my bedroom no less? Brax will kill ya."

"Special delivery from the boss since he couldn't come himself. I'm under strict orders to make sure you're taking it easy and report back to him." He said as she threw himself on to the bed next to her, still keeping the bag out of her reach.

"Well that won't be a problem as I can barely keep my eyes open long enough. That shit really took it out of me." She rested her eyes for a bit but when she didn't get a witty response she opened them and rolled onto her good side so she could look at him. He was keeping his eyes focused on the pattern of her bed sheets as his fingers traced it.

"Are you going to tell me what's bothering you kid? Or are we going to pretend it's all sunshine and roses so that you can give me my food?" That brought out a small smile and a half-hearted laugh from him before he turned all serious again.

"I'm glad you're okay, that's all." He said a little embarrassed. "You have no idea of what you have done do you? How much you have done for our family." She looked up at him in confusion slightly shocked at his words. "I'm serious Charlie. Before you and Ruby we were nowhere near this close. Brax is finally happy with his life. He has finally allowed himself to care and to do something for himself. Heath going inside was actually the best thing that could happen, no matter how cruel it might sound. I love him, I do, but he caused a lot of trouble and is too stubborn to listen to someone else. You, Jack and everybody else gave us a family which was exactly what we needed and secretly wanted."

Slightly taken aback by his words she had to shake herself to react and the only comeback she had was to crack a joke. "Listen to you mister wise-guy. That must have been the most I have ever heard you talk in like forever."

"Shut up! Eat your food." He grumbled and threw the bag of food she had been watching longingly at her. Opening it up she found a container filled with warm and creamy pasta and a cardboard box that Kyle snatched away before she could open it. She hit him on the arm and pouted, a way of saying "That's mine give it back". But Kyle only laughed and shook his head, not buying it.

"Food first, surprise later. Bosses orders."

She grumbled and dug into the warm pasta, immediately forgetting every previous thoughts she might have had. It tasted divine, nothing tasted better than that pasta that was for sure. A few minutes later she had finished it and was reaching for the box Kyle had grabbed from her.

"Are you sure you have room for this down there? You just ravished that pasta." At that she just raised her eyebrow and looked at him like he was crazy and that was enough to change his mind and to hand over the box. "Right! I forgot who I was talking to. You're like a bottomless pit."

When it came to food she was not to petty and she could eat her own weight and more without showing. Opening the box she couldn't help the ginormous grin that spread across her face. Inside the box were one large blueberry muffin. He was more attentive then she first thought, she had mentioned her love for blueberry muffins in the beginning when they first met but somehow he had memorised it. He truly did make her happy.

After two days at home she had regained all her strength and was starting to get restless. She had not been able to do anything before but with her new found energy she just wanted to get moving. Everyone else was busy, either with work or the restoration work around town to clean up after the storm. She had managed to convince Pete to take her out of the house to see the new station on the condition that she would not do anything straining since she was still recovering.

They had found a two store building in Yabbie Creck that didn't have to have too much work don. It was only for them to show in some desks and computers and for them to make cells on the ground floor. It was modern styled, concrete walls with big plate glass windows that had a somewhat good view over the town, much nicer than the last place. Pete showed her to her office and she could actually look forward to going to work in the future. Her desk was placed sideways so she only had to twist a little to be able to look out the windows that cowered the wall furthest in the room. Jack and Pete's were just the same on either side of hers.

She had done some paperwork and then Pete had taken her home after he had taken care of some stuff. Currently she was sitting on her couch watching TV in an empty house but her thoughts were not on the program but on Brax and Ruby who was currently at Tegan's funeral.

She was supposed to go but Cheryl had put a stop to it. She said something about coppers not having anything to do with her family and that she had no right being there when she was the one that had killed her. Brax had made a racket about it, yelling at his mom but she had just shrugged it off like she didn't care. Charlie didn't want to cause any more trouble so she had gracefully bowed out and said she would not go. Brax had at first been disappointed that she would not go but she said that it was not something that they should fight about, they were right. She didn't know Tegan and she didn't really like her either and this was not the time to stand your ground and be pigheaded, it was not fair to Tegan, Darcy or Tegan's mom. Brax had finally agreed and went alone with his brothers and Ruby.

It was nearing two o'clock now and the service should be over so she was just waiting to hear something from them. She didn't know what their reactions would be now that it finally sunk in that she was gone or how they would deal with the memories, despite their last meats did not go down so well. She didn't know their past so she could not judge them.

Another hour passed before she heard someone nearing the house, which she assumed was Ruby. She got up from the couch and walked out to the kitchen to meet her. In the door was not Ruby but Brax. He didn't look sad or pained but grim; like he was trying not show anything and like he didn't quite know what to do. She leaned on the work top and smiled at him softly and he let out a loud breath and a low chuckle that didn't sound happy at all. More a relief or something.

"How was it?"

"It was a funeral. Connie cried. Darcy cried. Mom faked sympathy and the priest was speaking." He said in a tiered voice as he loosened his tie from around his neck and unbuttoned the first couple of buttons on his shirt. It was first then she noticed he was in a suit, and she had to admit he looked damn good in it.

"That's not quite what I meant but it will do."

"Yeah. I don't know… it was weird and like nothing I thought it would be. But it was alright."

They didn't say anything else they just watched each other with small smiles, having a silent conversation with their eyes instead, saying everything they wanted to say but could not put to words.

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He could see them out of the corner of his eyes as soon as he got out the doors of the surfclub with the crates but he didn't give it too much thought to be honest. Sure he was surprised to see them here since they never hang around the town if they weren't looking to cause trouble but he couldn't figure out what they would want now. He kept them in his line of sight as he went around the back to dump the empty crates in the containers. Turning around he found his was out being blocked by the three guys he had seen outside the entrance. Before he had time to react a fist punched him in the face making him stagger back and lose his focus for a few seconds. Getting riled up and touching his bloody lip he waited for them to screw up again so that he would have a reason to knock their heads in.

"I'll let it slip this once but if you think about doing something stupid again I will tar you apart. Are we clear?" They didn't take his words to heart they just kept smirking cockily like nothing could touch them.

"We have a message from Jake to your dog of a brother. He's coming after him and he's gonna make him pay. You tell him that." The big goon in the middle slurred out before they all three walked away with a swing in their steps.

Standing there dumbfound for a few seconds trying to make sense of it all he looked after them as they disappeared around the building. Shaking himself out of his trance he walked over to his car and took off. Five minutes later he was outside Charlie's house and walked in through the open backdoor as if he actually lived there.  
>"CHARLIE?" he yelled out as soon as he crossed the door hold. He could hear her running through the house and she came in sight he stopped in shock for a moment, forgetting what it was he was going to say. She was only in her short, white, silky robe that ended mid-thigh and her hair was swept over one shoulder, exposing her slender neck.<p>

"Oh my god, what happened to you?" She said as she noticed his bloody lip and disheveled appearance, she rushed forwards and cupped his cheek so that she could touch his bloody lip with her thumb.  
>"Would you believe me if I told you I ran into a door?" He asked cheekily with was supposed to be a charming smile.<br>"Don't think so mister, so speak!" She said with the sternest voice she could muster but he could hear the playful tone behind it.

"Nah, some of Jake's guys came to see me wanting to leave a message for Heath. I swear to god that when I get my hands on him I will kill him for whatever mess he's gotten himself into this time."  
>"You don't know?!"<br>"Know what?" She sighed and looked at him awkwardly and he knew that whatever she had to tell he would not like or expect.

"Heath's made a deal with the DA. He gave some information in trade for an early release. He's just started a war in the underworld."  
>"And let me guess, you've been put in the middle of things again."<p>

He could feel the anger build up in him again, how on earth could Heath be so stupid and why did his mess once again involve the people he wanted least to be involved. He had found himself caring less and less about the boys and honestly he hadn't done one thing since Heath went inside. He still didn't feel the urge to, he was contempt with his life as it was with Charlie, Ruby and his brothers. They had a somewhat dysfunctional family, a day life most people would consider dull but he enjoyed it and it was the life and happiness he had always strived for but never dared hope of. Knowing that he would never have that and now that he did he wouldn't let Heath mess things up for him. He was done putting everybody else before him and fix their messes, he was going to be selfish and do anything to keep this life he had created for himself.

"It's my job Brax." She said sadly but firmly. He knew she hated becoming involved with something involving his brother, before she wouldn't give a flying shit about it but since they had become more serious she had been reluctant in case it would mess things up between them. He had also become more reluctant, not because of things coming between them but because he knew what was going on and he didn't want her to be caught in the cross fire and get hurt. Or worse, coming closer to finding out his secret, making it more likely he would lose his family.

"I know." He sighed and wrapped his arms around her tightly, pulling her close to his chest as if that would keep her safe. Taking a bag of peas as he walked by the freezer he pulled her with him into the living room where he dropped down on the couch, pulling her with him. He tucked her in under his arm, trapped between him and the couch's back, her head under his chin. He placed the bag of peas on his lip and he was perfectly content. Closing his eyes he could distinctly feel the tips of her fingers drawing similar patterns on his chest as he was drawing on her arm and he could feel him drift off into lala land.

"Room for one more?" He woke up to a soft voice whispering. As he opened his eyes slightly he was met by Ruby's curly hair and blue green but red shoot eyes like she had been crying. He immediately opened his other arm and soon her tiny form was curled up to his other side. Closing his eyes again he ran his hand up and down Ruby's back in a comforting matter, the both of them staying silent.  
>"So are you going to tell me what the tears were for Rubes."<p>

"Case and I broke up." She mumbled into his chest so quietly he barely heard it and it shocked him to the core.  
>"Say that again. You guys broke up?! What did he do?" She chuckled at his early assumption that it was all Casey's fault without knowing the full story.<br>"It was the both of us. We love each other, we're just not _in love_ you know. We work better as friends or siblings but it still hurts that it's over."

"I'm sorry Rubes." He said earnestly as he squeezed her lightly to show his support and placed a kiss on the top of her head and he could feel her snuggle up closer to him. This was what it was supposed to be like. Having a family.  
>"Your kids will be lucky to have you as their father." She mumbled sadly but softly and he could feel his heart contract in his chest at that statement and he could also feel it swell at the thought of being a good dad. But mostly he picked up on that sad tone, implying that she didn't think she belonged and the pain she felt at never really having a father. No matter how good of a mother Charlie was there was always that part of her that strived for a father.<p>

"I already have a kid, you're my family too Rubes." He didn't get a verbal response, he didn't really get any response except for a small trembling of her shoulders and the tight squeeze around the waist before he once more drifted off in contentment.

But his contentment didn't last for long and he was woken up again by someone shaking his leg, since it was the only free body part of him left. Opening his eyes he was this time met by the sight of Kyle hovering over them with a smile on his face and his phone in his hand.  
>"What?!" He snapped irritated at both being woken up and caught in a position like this but then he couldn't help but feel pride over his current position and met Kyle with a smirk instead that matched his. "Don't you wish you were laying surrounded by two gorgeous women you loved. Now why did you wake me up? It better be worth it!"<p>

"Heath's home, he wants to see you but you don't pick up your phone." And there all his current emotions disappeared and was replaced by irritation once more. Of course Heath had to run this moment as well. Carefully entangling himself from the sleeping girls on the couch he got up and made sure they were still asleep before leading Kyle out to the kitchen.

"Where is he?"  
>"Down at the beach, having a surf. He said something about celebrating his freedom or whatever." Nodding he went out the door without another word and jumped in his car, driving to the beach to have a talk to his little brother.<p>

As soon as he got to the beach he could make out Heath in the water. He went down to the shore and yelled out to get his attention. When he turned around he waved him into shore before turning around and walking further up the beach where he waited for him. He walked up to him with a cocky smirk and his arms out from his sides in greeting.  
>"Missed me have ya?"<br>"What the hell have you done?!" He didn't even bother with small talk, he was done playing nice and he could see that that threw Heath of considering that they smoothed everything over before he went inside. But he had screwed all that up as soon as he opened his big mouth. "Why on earth would you dob on Jake?! Do you have any idea of what you have done? You've started a bloody war, all over what? Two months inside?! Was it really worth all of what's to come?"

"I did it to look out from my daughter, I can't exactly do that from inside! I thought you would be pleased and since when did you ever back down from a fight?"

"And you think she would be much better off in a situation where people would want her father dead, putting her in extreme danger?" He could see Heath grow smaller at his words, letting him know he had not thought about that at all. He had just thought about himself as usual not bothering about the consequences of his actions, no matter how good they were in the beginning.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm down he also decided what he was going to do. He was done with all of this bullshit, he had sort of "grown out" of it and the thought of his two girls back home only made his decision so much easier.  
>"I'm out!" Heath looked at him dumbfound, not quiet believing what he was hearing. "I'm out, I want nothing to do with this anymore. You're on your own from now on Heath. I'm done cleaning up your mess."<p>

**Review please! It brightens my day when I see a mail indicating someone telling me what they thought. It makes it more fun to actually finish my writing. **


	16. Chapter 15 - In the open

Chapter 15 ~ In the open

Heath starred at him dumbfounded for a few seconds but slowly he could see anger and resentment build up inside of him. His jaw set and his lips formed a thin line while his eyes transformed from light grey to an almost black grey. You could feel the tension radiating from the both of them. One of them felt betrayed and abandoned by the one person he thought would always be there while the other was beyond angry and tiered of fighting for a family that at the moment did not exist. They were at a crossroad waiting for the other to see what road he planned to take and who could move first.

"You're what?!"

"You heard me. I'm out."

"Just like that?!" he said, clearly not believing a word he was saying. "After all this time you're willing to give up everything just like that. It's that bloody copper isn't it?"

"Yes Heath, it's the bloody copper!" He said gleefully and harsh and for once he got the reaction he was hoping for. "We can't keep doing this forever! Is it really what you want, to end up inside like the old man or worse, dead?! Cause that is what's going to happen if you don't stop. This whole thing, was a way for us to get out of the mess dad made and to start a new life for us. To not end up as him! The sooner you realise it, the better."

With that he turned around to walk away with a final glance at his brother that he had not seen in months. He was worn, you could see that time inside had done things to him. He had a scruff on his face making him look like he hadn't properly cleaned in weeks while his body looked more pumped. Guess they didn't do much in prison then build up mussels.

He had just taken a step when Heath called out for him, making him freeze at his words.

"It will never work you know. You and that copper. They will not stop digging and as soon as she finds out that you're involved in all this she will drop you on your arse so fast."

"She will not find out. Angelo's has been clean since I bought it of Angelo himself, the import business is sold with records burned and the club in the city has not been really used since we moved out here."

With a final gleeful smile at the crestfallen look on his brothers face he walked away and up to his car. But Heath's words had put a dread in his stomach, he was right if Charlie would find out that he had lied to her again she would most certainly drop him on his arse. He would lose everything. He knew he should tell her but her reaction was what was stopping him. But at least he had burned all the bridges so they couldn't get anything on him if she decided to do anything about it. He had burned all ties he had to the Riverboys, not only cleaned up his tracks but leaving them hanging dry. Might be cruel considering they had practically been his family since he was a kid but it had to be done if he would ever be able to move on with his life.

On the short car ride back he decided he had to tell her. It didn't matter that they might never find something to link him back to the boys or that he had dropped out. She deserved to know and he knew that if he kept lying to her and she would find out from someone that was not him it would all be much worse. He sat in his car on the drive for a few minutes to collect himself and build up the courage to tell her the truth and prepare himself for the worse.

Walking inside he found Charlie walking around the kitchen sleepily with a cup of coffee in her hand. She looked as if she had just woken up to the world and wasn't quite aware of her surroundings. Walking up to her he embraced her from behind and pressed a kiss to her head, taking in her familiar scent.

"Mm... you were gone when I woke up. Where did you run off to?"

"I had to go see Heath. He was bugging Kyle and Case. I thought I was going to be able to sneak back in before you woke up."

"Well you still can."

She extracted herself from his embrace and put down her mug in the sink before taking his hand and leading him into the living room once more and dragging him down on the couch. As much as he would've loved gathering her up in his arms and fall back asleep again he knew he had to tell her now or he would never do it. Figuring Ruby was out since she was not on the couch anymore he decided that now was as good time as any.

"Charlie I-"

"Mom? Have you seen my brown boots somewhere? I can't find them anywhere." Ruby's voice came from upstairs and soon her brown hair appeared at the top of the stairs. Sighing and hoping this would go fast he sunk back on the couch as Charlie went up to help Ruby look for her damn shoes. He loved the girl he did but she sure did have the worst timing.

Ten minutes later a smiling and pimped up Ruby came running down the stairs with her bag in her hand in a rush. She stopped for a second to press a kiss to his cheek and call out a rushed goodbye before she was out the door and he couldn't help but laugh despite his frustration. She sure was energetic that girl. A few seconds later Charlie descended the stairs with an amused look and plunked herself on the couch next to him. So once more he gathered up the courage to tell her before someone else came and interrupted like her brothers. They would most definitely kill him if they found he had betrayed not just them but also hurt their sister and niece.

"Charlie, I need to tell you something."

"Oh yeah, like what?"

"You have to promise me not to freak out when I tell you. I have been meaning to tell you for a while but things have been good and I guess I was a bit selfish and didn't tell you."

"You're kind of freaking me out Brax, what are you trying to tell me?" Her big blue eyes were searching his for some kind of answer, she was totally oblivious to what he was and what he had done. She really did trust him despite her better judgement. He ran a hand down his face in despair, he really didn't want to do this, it would ruin everything and maybe even break her heart and his.

"You know how Heath has been running the boys while I have been trying to keep Casey from getting involved. We've been trying to start over for a really long time and Summerbay was our chance, so I bought Angelo's to try and get us out."

He could hear himself and how he was running around in circles around the subject. He was not getting to the point. But before he was able to Charlie's phone rang and interrupted them once again. She looked at him apologetically before she got up from the couch and answered her phone.

"Charlie Holden... Are you- Yeah, yeah I'm on my way."

He groaned at her final words, there goes his chance cause he sure as hell would not have the guts to do it again.

"I'm sorry Brax, can we talk about this later? I really have to go."

"Yeah sure." She smiled at him and bent down to give him a kiss before she ran upstairs to change into some more appropriate clothing. She came back down stairs a few minutes later wearing blue jeans and some sort of light pink blouse. She as well as Ruby barley had the time to call out a goodbye before she was gone, it had to run in the family.

With nothing else to do he got up from the couch and locked up the house after him and set of to work. He could just as well work and get out some of his frustration then just hanging around either her place or his, going everything over and over in her head. It would do him no good.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

As soon as she had gotten into her car and driven off the driveway she wanted to turn back around. It was clear that Brax had something important to tell her but as usual work got in the way, it was always something between the two of them. If it wasn't work it was a jealous ex or your family, it could never run smoothly. Apparently there was a brawl down the beach starting up between the Riverboys and Jake Priovic's gang. She knew it was coming as soon as her superior called to let her know they had more dirt on Jake and that Heath was the one that had given it away for a light sentence. Sure the superiors were more then happy that they had done an ever bigger bust but now she had a bloody gang war on her hands and that is the last thing she wants.

She drove to the station as fast as she could, wanting to get everything over and done with so that she could go home and cuddle up with Brax on the couch again. She had never been one to take an afternoon nap but the last few days she had been feeling a little under the weather, she had asked Sid discreetly if it was normal to have side effects from the surgery still even though it had been two weeks. But he had said that the only thing she would be feeling was pain but what she was feeling was not pain. She got tired easily and she found herself taking naps when she got home from work and sometimes she had dizzy spells. And right now she was not feeling her best but she tired to push it away, hoping this would go quick so that she could take a few days of and sleep of whatever virus she had caught.

Once inside she was met by an front room filled with boys in tanks while various body parts were filled with similar tattoos. Her colleagues in uniform were running between the interrogation rooms and the front desk to file papers. She figured Jack and Pete were already in interrogation while the other's did the paperwork and keep check on the guys outside. She went into the room next to the interrogation that was on the other side of the glass window.

They had twisted the table so you could see both the officer and the one being questioned, so that you could make out each's body language and reactions. Sometimes it was necessary. The one being questioned now was a big tattooed bloke. One of the bigger once, more muscles then brain mostly. He was leaning back on his chair with his arms crossed over his chest and he had a big smirk on his face like he was untouchable. But then he thought wrong cause he had not seen Pete worked up with. She hated when he got mad or especially cross with you cause it was always scary. He was like a bulldog and always got his point through, not many people dared to stand up to him despite him not looking to scary.

"So" Pete begun. "Why don't we start with what caused the fight. Why did you find it necessary to start a fight with Pirovic's gang on a public beach?"

"Just a friendly fight that's all. Nothing more." The smirk was still very much present on his face.

"So they were not out for revenge on you for rolling over on Jake?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She swore she saw his smirk falter for a second but it was so quickly back in place she could have missed it.

The door to the room opened up and Jack walked in with a file in hand that he handed over to her. He was still in uniform, something Pete and she often teased him over but he always retaliated with that blue brought out the colour of his eyes and that he could slack of cause he was not the senior officer.

She opened the file and looked over the statements quickly as she kept an ear open for what was going on on the other side of the glass.

"None of them are saying anything out of the ordinary. Everyone says pretty much the same, that it was a friendly fight and that they had no idea of any one dobbing on someone."

"So surprises there then."

"No."

Pete kept pushing the guy on the other side of the table they were sitting at and she could see the guy was losing his patience. His smirk was replaced by a bored look, he was definitely not amused by it anymore. Pete snuck in other questions too hoping he could trick him into telling them something and for once they were lucky.

"Look, why don't you just ask the real guy behind it all."

"And who would that be? Heath?"

"No his brother. Brax. He's the one that's been running it all, Heath is just the front man."

At that her ears started ringing. This was not what she had been expecting. When he had started talking she had thought for sure that he would give up something about their operations. But instead they had given them something more deal breaking than that, but it was not something she wanted to hear. She could see how Pete looked at them through the window out of the corner of his eye, showing them that he was just as surprised as they were. She looked helplessly over at Jack who's jaw was clenched tightly and you practically see the betrayal shining in his eyes.

The more Pete got the man in the room to talk the more everything fell into place. It was just as she had thought for one fleeting moment one of those many days she, Pete and Jack had been working on the board. He planned everything, handled everything that had anything to do with money and operations while everyone else was doing the dirty work. Doing the dealing and raiding and what not. The nauseating feeling she had been pushing away all day grew until she couldn't take it anymore. Pete let the man out of the room and she ran out of the station for the second time feeling betrayed and hurt beyond belief.

She thought they were done with all the lying and sneaking around but apparently she had been taken for a ride all this time. Not knowing what else to do she jumped in her car and drove all the way back to Summerbay. She drove the familiar road that led her to Irene's where she knew Bianca would be sitting all day marking since April had gone out with Ruby and the others and Irene was at work. She ran up the pathway to the door with tears streaming down her face and knocked franticly on the door, waiting for Bianca to come and let her in. When she opened the door she first looked irritated for being interrupted but as soon as she saw who it was she just stepped aside with a worried look on her face. She sat down on the couch and curled up in one of the corners. Bianca doomed joined her putting two glasses and a bottle of wine on the table in front of them. Pouring them a glass each she watched as she gulped hers down in one go before asking for a refill.

"May I ask what has brought you drinking all my wine while crying on?"

"Guess!" She said solemnly.

"Sweetie I wouldn't have asked if I had any idea, so spill."

"Brax."

"Brax?! What on earth could he have done to make you this way?" Surprise was evident in her voice, the same surprise she would have if someone had told her this just a few hours earlier. She told Bianca everything from their fight after he had helped Heath, their no more lies agreement, her suspicions and today's revelations and she was just as shocked as she had been.

"He used me Bianca! I was nothing more then a pawn in his game, a way for him to reach his goal." The tears that had stopped for a moment was now once again rolling down her face and she let out all the hurt she had kept in since the station. She couldn't believe he would actually do that to her. "I can't believe I was that stupid, I knew what the right thing to do was but I still fell for it. It was all there wasn't it? The past that didn't make any sense what so ever considering his family's record, how he managed to buy Angelo's just like that, the mysterious disappearing acts and injuries. How could I have been so blind?"

"How can you be so sure?"

"Bianca come on!"

"No seriously! Have you talked to him, asked him about it?" She looked at her pointedly and when she didn't get a response she just smirked in triumph. "I know it sucks and that it hurts but you should probably talk to him first before you do anything stupid."

She poured them another glass of wine and she spent the rest of the night on Bianca's couch and they were beyond the limit of tipsy when Irene got off from work. She eventually had enough and sent them up to Bianca's room where they eventually fell asleep on her bed.

**Another one done, just a few more to go! Sorry about the ending but didn't know what else to do so I sort of ended it pretty quickly but hopefully the next update will make it up. Hopefully that will get out pretty soon if I can find the inspiration! Anyway hope you enjoy it and thanks for all the lovely reviews! Xx Lexie **


	17. Chapter 16 - The Big Bang

**Like a lot of you were expecting things will get so much more dramatic in the next couple of chapters. But they will also be longer cause there is a lot of things happening and many angles that need to be covered. Some of you have been wanting more of Kyle, he is not a main character which is pretty sad if I say so myself, but didn't get a grip on him in the show until after I started this. But I will try though to get some more of him in the next chapter, not this cause this is mainly Chax. **

Chapter 16 - The Big Bang

She had woken up the next morning in Bianca's bed happy and totally oblivious the next morning until the mild hangover washed over her as a reminder of the day before and all the feelings hit her like a ton of bricks. Sighing and groaning she rolled over and picked up her phone that had somehow ended up on the floor by the bed. She had several missed calls and texts from both her brothers and Ruby, and also from Brax. Her brothers wanted to know she was alright and if she had done something stupid and if she thought she could handle it they wanted her at the station today. Ruby wanted to know where she was and that she was going to sleep over at her grandfather's place and Brax wanted to know where she had disappeared of to since he still had something to tell her.

Not bothering to answer any of them she dropped it next to her before grumbling getting out of bed. Bianca was still snoring on her side of the bed so she quietly snuck out of the room and down the stairs. She went into the bathroom where she knew Bianca kept some of her beauty products. After cleaning up her face she pulled a brush through her hair before pulling it up in a ponytail. Sort of happy with the result, she didn't look too hangover, she pulled of her blouse from yesterday that she had slept in and pulled on a flowy top with flower pattern she had stolen from Bianca's wardrobe before she went down stairs. At least now she didn't look completely like she had slept in her clothes and had hangover after a wine to many. She mumbled an embarrassed goodbye to Irene who was laughing at her as she made her way through the kitchen and out of the house.

At the station she was briefed by Pete of what had happened after she left the day before and what their next step would be. A step it turned out she would be very uncomfortable with. They were going to bring in Brax for questioning and search his house in search for any evidence that could back up the allegations that had been made yesterday. Pete made it clear to her that she could not be to involved in it all because of their relationship, it was bad enough that him and Jack were involved despite them being friends but it was a small town so they had to use what they got. She was going with them though to collect him and ask him to the station but she was far from sure that she could handle but never the less she was sitting in one of the cruisers with Watson driving, following Jack over to Brax's place.

Walking up the pathway to the front door she could see Brax through the window pacing back and forth, looking deep in thought. She had yet to call him back or give him even the slightest response that she was alright and that nothing had happened to her. Despite being angry with him she still cared for some reason and couldn't help but wonder what was bothering him. Now that she come to think about it it wouldn't be totally impossible if he had had another person within the precinct that fed him information, perhaps he already knew they were coming and was nervously waiting around for them.

With her being the senior officer she was first in line and knocked on the door with the warrant safely in her hand. She heard quick footsteps on the other side of the door and before she could take a deep calming breath the door was opened and she was met by the sight of Brax in all his glory. When he first saw that it was her she could see his face light up with relief and smiled but it faltered as soon as he noticed the officers in blue behind her. He looked at her questioningly and she held out the warrant for him to read.

"We're here to search your house in a pending investigation. We have reason to believe you've been involved in criminal activity, so if you would follow us to the station so that we could ask you a couple of questions..." Her voice held no emotion what so ever and she made sure to void her face from any as well, it hurt her to the core to see the fallen look on his face. He knew now why they were here, there was no doubt about it. The whole thing was true, he had played them all for a fool.

"What-"

"If you would come here mr. Braxton." Watson spoke up for the first time and motioned with her hand for him to walk with her out the door and he reluctantly let the others in and followed her and Watson to the car. She could hear Jack mumble his sorry to Brax before joining the other officers in the search of the house.

The car ride to the station was a nightmare, it was tense and awkward and no one said a word. She knew Watson knew what was going on between the two of them but she was kind enough not to say a word that could cause more awkwardness in their confined space. Ever since they had left his house she had felt the heat of his eyes on her, never averting as of trying to make her turn around an face him or at least acknowledge him somehow. But she was stubborn as a mule and kept her gaze steady on the road in front of her and when they arrived at the station she left it to Watson to lead him into the station and the interrogation room where Pete was waiting for him to get started.

She did exactly what she had done the day before, she walked into the room on the other side of that glass window and watched it all. It was like he could feel her presence or her stare cause he turned toward the window and looked straight at her instead of looking at Pete who was taking his time sorting through papers.

Pete was sweating him by already being in the room despite the fact that they were still waiting for Jack to come back from the search, so instead he just sat there looking through the file slowly and over and over again to waste time. He was ruthless in that room and him being friends with Brax would not change that. It was his job and he was going to get to the bottom of this no matter the outcome.

She took this time to watch him, really watch him since could barley look at him back at the house. She looked at him but she had not _looked_ at him, she had avoided looking into his eyes and instead fixating her gaze on a spot over his head so that she could still see his reaction slightly. Now sitting in this chair he looked nothing like the man she had come to know over the last six months, he looked defeated on the verge of giving up. Many might not see it, they probably saw a stone faced man that was playing indifferent of what was going on around him. But she who knew him could see what he really felt by the slight slump in his shoulders that was not the usual composer for him and she found it actually hard to see him like this.

Finally Jack came into the room and she found something else to focus on then the broken man that sat in front of her. Jack took a seat next to Pete and he had now become the centre of Brax's attention.

"Where's Charlie?" He said clearly surprised that it was Jack that was sitting there and not her.

"She can't be here mate, she's not allowed to be involved in this part." Pete said apologetically and Brax just nodded before leaning back slightly in the chair.

"So are one of you going to tell me why I am here anytime soon?"

"We have got reason believe that you have been laundering drug money through your restaurant and that you're actually the leader of the Riverboys and not your brother." Pete begun. "The last one is not illegal but it puts you in another light and might be a connection to more crimes."

Looking pointedly at Brax trying to muster what was going through his head he waited for Brax to answer. But Brax just looked questioningly at him like he had nothing to say or had no idea what he wanted. "Is there anything you would like to say to that? If it's true or not."

"If you guys can actually prove that..." He smiled almost like a mad man and let out a mocking laugh like it was the funniest hing he had ever heard. "Then I would not be sitting here and you would have arrested me instead."

Charlie could not take it anymore and walked out of the room so she wouldn't have to watch it anymore. She didn't not recognise that man just before, that was not the family man Brax that was the damaged and tough guy Darryl Braxton. A man that had really scared the living day lights out of her, she had no idea of what that man was capable of cause that was a man she had never seen before. Closing the door behind her in her office, blocking out the outside world. She slid down the door to the floor and just sat with her forehead on her knees for who knows how long but after a whole she felt composed enough to go back out there. Just as she opened her door and walked out the interrogation room door opened as well and Brax walked out. She started backing back into her room but he had already spotted her and slunk back in the room with her and closing the door firmly behind them.

Before she could comprehend what was happening he had turned her around and held her tightly in his arms, his mouth on her ear making it impossible for her to escape from the arms that felt like home to her. She was tiered, she was upset and hurt and at that moment it didn't matter that he was the cause, she just didn't have the energy to remove herself from that safe haven.

"I love you! I love you so much!" He said lowly in her ear and she could feel tears cloud her vision.

"Did you do it?" When he didn't answer she knew but she asked again anyway. "Did you do it?"

"Charlie..."

"It's a simple question, yes or no Brax. Did you or didn't you do it?"

"Not since yo... I've been trying to get out since we got here but it's not so easy to just up and leave. But when Heath was put inside I got the perfect opportunity to not do anything so when he got out I told him I was out and he was on his own." He kissed her just below her ear and buried his face in her neck. "It was what I was going to tell you yesterday, I couldn't keep it from you anymore cause what we have Charlie, it means more to me than you'll ever know. "

"YOU LIED TO ME!" She snapped and tried to break free but he just held onto her tighter, refusing to let her go.

"NO! I just didn't tell you."

"Well that just makes it okay then!" She sneered at him sarcastically. "That will so help you in court."

"They won't find any proof." He said softly.

"I can't do this Brax." She whimpered into his chest and grabbed a hold of his shirt. "I told you everything about Grant and Ruby. I opened up to you, trusted you while you were just using me-"

"I WAS NOT USING YOU! I admit at first when I found out who you were when you first got here the thought crossed my mind. But after our day at the beach that did not matter anymore!" He kissed her temple several times and she clutched him tighter.

"I get that this is much baby but please, I beg you do not shut me out we can fix this. Take some time but please don't... I can't lose you."

His voice was thick with emotion that actually made her waver and when he kissed her she did not put up any resistance. Their tears blended together and the kisses was hasty and desperate. There was a knock on door and she could hear Jack yelling through the door that they had to go. Before she could go Brax pulled her in for a last soaring kiss and then she pushed him away and walked out the door without a second glance back, her head spinning with thoughts and emotions his words had set in motion.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

He felt like screaming at the top of his lungs, hitting or tearing something apart. Anything that could help him get out some of the emotions he felt and take away some of the pain. His entire body screamed out in agony as she pushed away and left him behind. It felt like someone had ripped out his vital organs and run him over with a truck. She had left and he had know idea if she would ever come back to him, there was a big chance he had lost her forever. The only thing running through his mind was that he prayed with everything he had that she would forgive him. He couldn't bare losing her, he wouldn't lose her. Before when it had just been a possibility it had been unbearable enough but now when it was actually happening... He couldn't even find words to describe it.

Leaning on her desk he wiped off his face of any traces of the tears that had escaped during their encounter while calming his breathing enough so that he could stand on his own two feet. Calling a taxi from the front desk he decided while he was waiting that he was in need of a distraction until he could talk to Charlie and what better way than going to work and drink himself silly to numb the pain just for a little while in an empty restaurant with an amazing liquor supply.

Climbing the stairs like a zombie he walked in to the restaurant expecting it to be empty and in between shifts but found the restaurant to still be filled of people and staff flocking around the bar, everyone's eyes locked on the flat screen they used to show games during game nights. It was stationed on one of the local stations showing the news, there were big promoting labels that said breaking news flashing around the screen, indicating that it was something essential. Walking closer he could see it was from the bank in Yabbie creek, they were filming from bird perspective and he could see the streets being blocked off by persons in blue uniforms that were running around trying to keep onlookers away while there was a group in the middle discussing something intensively. One of those people was Charlie.

He grabbed a hold of Mike one of his staff members who was sitting nearest to where he was standing. "What's going on here mate? You do know that we are supposed to be closed right?"

"Yeah well the news went on and everyone kinda stuck around, didn't have the heart to kick'em out some of them has family and friends in there."

"What are you talking about?!"

"There's a hostage situation down at the bank, three men with guns trying to rob the place but they got stuck inside with no way out so they are keeping hostages as a bargain chip. The police has put together a group that is working on how to get them out."

His eyes quickly snapped to the tv, suddenly very interested in what the reporter had to say. It wasn't much though he pretty much repeated the same thing over and over again, that the police had arrived to the scene and was building up a plan on how they were going to go about it. He watched the figures in the middle with a high interest as they moved towards one of the vans that had the back open. With wide eyes he saw how they started to strap up, putting on a vest that he highly suspected was a bulletproof one, guns were strapped on in waistbands and holsters and he could feel his heart in his throat. She was going to do something stupid, he knew her and she would do anything she could to get those people out of that building even if it cost her her own life. Not only that but he knew she was upset before she went out there and there was a big chance that she was not thinking straight.

As they started moving the camera zoomed in on the group showing them bringing out a gramophone to try and get contact with the people inside. It went back and forth for a few minutes before he could see Charlie sneaking up towards the bank by pressing herself against the walls of the other buildings. She reached the door, drew her gun and went inside. As the door closed behind her he could scream, he wanted to grab her and give her a good shake while demanding how she could be so bloody stupid and selfish and run into that building.

He went outside and stood on the balcony where he grabbed a hold of the railing so hard it was lucky it was made out of metal or else it would have snapped in two. This was all beginning to become to much, his normal tough guy armour was broken and his emotions was just welling up. He repeated in his head for like the millionth time how much she meant to him and how he could not lose her but what good did that do when the person he needed to say it to weren't there to listen to it.

He could hear clapping and relived laughs and sighs coming from inside making him go in there again. Looking at the tv he could see people running out the door as fast as they could over to the police officers standing ready for them. He waited as person after person run out one after another impatiently, just wanting to see Charlie running out safe as well. But she never came. He watched as the camera turned it's focus from the door to the now free hostages and police officers running around. A face that stood out in the crowed made him freeze, there in the middle of all the people running around stood a curly haired older woman with tears in her eyes that was still focused on the exit of the bank. The woman was no one other than Connie, Tegan's mom and the one that was currently looking after Darcy.

"The hostages are now free." He could hear the reporter starting to announce. "Our own brave police officer, detective Charlie Holden who has been in charge of the operation got in contact with the robbers but when they would not budge she made her way inside. All the hostages are all now free except a little girl that is still inside with the detective."

His was brought out of his frozen state by his phone going off in his pocket, frowning as he did not recognise the number he hesitantly pressed the green button on the screen and brought it up to his ear.

"Darryl Braxton!" A cheerful voice rung in his ear and the voice sent shivers down his back. It was not a robbery, this was about revenge.

"Hammar"

"Good, you recognise me! I just wanted to let you know what's going to happen. You see I've got your pretty little girlfriend with me and your brothers daughter. My brother's girlfriend is dead and he blames you, your brother dobbed on him so know he's doing time. An eye for and eye he says."

"If you hurt them I swear you'll regret it!" He felt sick to his stomach as his only response was a wicked laugh before he was met by the dial tone. Quicker than quick he texted Heath before dialling Jack's number as he watched his person on the screen. He could see his frustrated sigh as he picked up his phone before he frowned at the screen.

"Brax?!"

"Mate, listen to me! This is not a robbery, it's revenge at my stupid brother. Jake wants him to pay so he's got Charlie and Darcy trapped in there, an eye for an eye. This was never for the money or an escape, they knew Darcy was in there and getting Charlie in there was just a bonus. You have to get them out before they get hurt." He was pacing back and forth the restaurant, totally oblivious to all the eyes being turned from the tv screen to him as he ranted.

"Are you for real?"

"Yes it's Hammar and his boys inside. Jack mate, if you don't hurry they will hurt them or worse kill them!"

"I'm on it mate!" As Jack hung up he released a sigh if relief, even if it was just the smallest amount of relief. He knew Jack would do exactly anything to get Charlie out of that building and so would Pete. They were so protective over Charlie and he knew why that was, he also knew that they would rather die before Charlie got hurt and that calmed him relentlessly.

He continued watching the developments on the screen. Jack running up to Pete and loved ones running up the hostages and embraced them with tears streaming down their faces. His main focus was on the door as if he could with will open it up and get Charlie and Darcy to run out of there unharmed. He didn't have to wait long cause all of the sudden the door flew open a girl with long blonde hair dressed in a light blue hoodie and jeans shorts ran out in full speed. He kept waiting for Charlie's slim figure to run out after her but all that happened was two loud bangs ringing out. Two gun shots.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

**I know it's a cliffhanger, I was originally going to make it even longer but I'm leaving for the weekend tomorrow and will most likely be out of service so I won't be able to update so instead I'm cutting it short and leaving you all in dispense as the meanie I am. But hopefully you enjoyed it and will be waiting for the next one that I will hopefully have even more inspiration for after my trip! **

**Read and review guys to let me know what you think! And prepare yourselves for a surprise! Xx Lexie **


	18. Chapter 17 - Unexpected

Chapter 17~ Unexpected

Four hours and 32 minutes. 272 minutes. 16 320 seconds. That's how long it had been since he had arrived at the hospital and the doctors and nurses had wheeled her away through the same double doors as the last time she was taken away from him. He had watched on the TV as Hammar and his guys ran out of the building and how Jack and Pete rushed inside, they had too realised that Charlie was the one on the receiving end of the gun. He had run out of the restaurant and taken off to the hospital where he had soon been joined by the others.

Ruby had come stumbling through the corridor with tears streaming down her face, blocking her vision making people having to move out of the way so they wouldn't be run over, Beth and Tony walking behind her. Pete and Jack turned towards her with sympathetic smiles, their eyes wet with tears as well, but she had just run past them and came hurling straight into his arms. He knew that she knew about his involvement with the boys and that she was probably mad as hell at him for lying or betraying them but at this moment that didn't matter. Right now she needed comfort from somebody she trusted and felt the same way cause her mom was hurt and they didn't know if she was alive or not. It was not just comfort for her but for him as well. He hadn't just been trying to make her feel better the other day on the couch, he actually considered her as a daughter and having her in his arms made him feel a whole lot better. A reassurance that at least one of his girls were safe.

He could see his brothers coming towards them but he did not bother to greet them, he just relished in the safe feeling he got from holding Ruby, a feeling he very much needed if he was going to make it out of this still sane. Leah, Martha and Bianca also showed up and they all went up and stroked Ruby over the head and gave her a kiss but not once did she extract herself from his arms and for that he was grateful. Bianca casted him a look that let him know that Charlie had told her what had gone done the last couple of days but it was not a look of anger or hate but more of a sympathetic look that surprised him a hell of a lot. He had always though Bianca as a judgemental person but apparently he had been wrong, she saw something that Charlie had missed or just saw it all from a different perspective.

Looking at the people around him that he considered family and saw the pain in their eyes and postures he felt the rage grow inside of him again. He could kill Heath for being so stupid, it might have been Hammar and his boys that had pulled the trigger but if Heath had not been so stupid they would not be in this mess at all. When he saw him next he was dead.

The clock rang in the sixth hour and he could tell that he was not the only one that was worried. He was sitting on one of the plastic chairs with Ruby's head in his lap as he stroked her hair to let her know he was there and as a calming motion. Leah and Bianca were sitting awkwardly on two chairs across from them while holding each other. Beth had her arms around Tony while stroking his back and Martha did the same to Jack while Pete paced back and forth talking on the phone or chasing up a doctor or nurse. Kyle sat and watched the doors that Charlie had been wheeled through hours before, he was really worried and scared it literally shone in his eyes. He knew him and Charlie had become close over time but that he had come to care for her this much was definitely a surprise.

They waited for another 45 minutes before Sid came out looking tiered as hell as if he was about to drop down any second and by the grim look on his face what he had to tell them was not good. Everyone got up as soon they saw him approach eager to hear what he had to say.

"Charlie was shot once in her left shoulder but the distinctive damage was the shot to her lung. One slug managed to travel between her ribs and puncture her left lung. We managed to repair it since she got to the hospital as fast as she did but she still lost a lot of blood, making her arrest on the table. She's currently in a coma and she's hooked up to a respirator that is currently helping her to breath. We can't tell when she will wake up, that is entirely up to her."

"How the hell could she have been shot in the chest?! She was wearing a vest I saw her put it on myself!" He exclaimed. He clearly remembered the vision of her at the back of one of the vans putting on one of those black bulky things over her clothes, the feeling he got when he saw them come out would never go away and he remembered her still having it on her when she ran in through the door.

"She took it off, she gave it to Darcy before deciding to push her out of the way and take the bullets anyway." Pete sighed and he could hear the underlying anger in the words. He was as angry as he was about his sisters nobility, the urge to put everyone first but herself. It was just like her to firstly give up her only protection but still throw herself before the other person unprotected. And he had a feeling that this was not the first nor last time she had or would do such thing.

"Of course she did!"

Sid explained more thoroughly about her condition but he didn't really listen closely enough to take it all in, he was imagining the whole scene in his mind and every time he replayed the scenario it became worse than the last time. The one thing he actually did catch was that they were allowed to sit with her but not all at once, max two or three tops. Sid had barely stopped speaking when Ruby took off and sprinted down the corridors to the room Sid had pointed out as Charlie's. He was though rooted to spot, not too sure if he wanted to see the sight that was waiting for them behind the door, looking around him the others seemed to have the same thoughts.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

As soon as she heard where Charlie was she was off, not even stopping to think. All that was running through her head was that her mom was alive, if only just, and that she could see her. But not once did she think that it might be a sight that would not be too pleasant to see, that it would not be like she was asleep and peaceful. She was currently frozen just inside the door with her hand clamped to her mouth to muffle the cry she whimpered out as soon as she saw Charlie laying there on the bed. There were several machines, some beeping and some were not, needles that had pierced her skin and brought fluids to her body from bags that hung next to her. A tube was showed into her mouth and down her throat, without it she would almost have looked normal but that made the whole thing a disturbing scene to take in. Walking the few steps to the bed she almost collapsed onto the bed next to her and laid herself carefully up to her side. Her mom that was the strongest person she knew, she was always the rock everyone leaned on when they went through a hard time and now on the worst time of her life she was not there to help her through it.

"_Mom?__" _

"_I'm right here baby!__" __She turned her head towards the sound and saw her mom standing by the door through the tears that were streaming down her face. Fear was the only way to describe her feelings, total and utter fear that shocked her to the core. One minute she was talking to her grandfather and the next she was being poked by nurses and someone was shining a flashlight in her eyes. Her mom was by her side immediately and grabbed her hand to give her some sort of anchor. _

"_Mom, what's wrong with me?__" _

"_You're sick Rubes. Apparently you have diabetes and this was just your body's way to let us know there was something wrong with it but you gave me and your grandpa quite the scare. Why didn't you tell us you had been feeling funny?__" _

_The worry and fear that shone in her mother's eyes made her feel slightly guilty, she could see that her mother blamed herself for not knowing she was sick before this happened. She was thinking that she should have known that this could have happened to her so that she would be able to prevent it, even though there was no way she could have ever known. _

"_I didn't want to worry you, you have had so much to do with work and knew you had a lot on your mind so I didn't want to bother you with something like a stupid cold or flu.__" _

"_But this wasn't just a cold or a flue Rubes, this was serious. And despite that I am never,_ never,_ too busy for you no matter what! Do you hear me? It doesn't matter what you believe. I am your mom and I am meant to take care of you, even if it's just a cold or a flu.__" _

_She nodded her head and closed her eyes and leaned into the touch when Charlie put her hand on her head stroked her hair, letting the motion sooth her and giving her enough energy to confront her feelings. _

"_I'm scared mom.__" __She whispered so quietly she doubted she had even heard her. _

"_I know. I am too. But we're going to get through this you and me, like we always do okay!__"_

"_Yepp!__" __Charlie sat down on the bed next to her and she moved until her head was lying in her lap so she could bask up the warmth and comfort her mother radiated. __"__I love you mom!__"_

"_I love you too baby!__"_

Her mom was her hero and had been since she was a little girl, she had always looked up to her, wanting to be like her. When she was younger and they were dressing up to costume parties she always dressed up as a cop and she used to love and come to work with her and how the other officers pretended how she was a cop as well. But when she grew up her respect for the profession lessened. It kept her mom away from her as she was a rebellious teenager, an age when everything could be used against the parents. But she grew out of that as well and the only thing that bothered her right know was the danger and that every time she went to work she was just worried she might not come back home. And right now that was a really big possibility.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

To see your daughter lying on a hospital bed was one of the worst things in the world. It was not the first time but it was definitely the worst, none of the other times she had been a fraction from death itself. He couldn't count on his fingers how many times he had been in this hospital waiting on news on his daughter alone, his children definitely had a knack on how to get hurt. They cared about others too much that they forgot to care about themselves. But they were tough and he wouldn't be wrong if he said that Charlie might be a little bit tougher than her brothers and after everything she has been through it wasn't too surprising. He had watched her go through all ups and downs and he was still amazed by the strength and the courage she had shown. No matter how far down she had fallen she still managed to climb up all the way.

_'~'~'~'~'~'_

_He had finally finished work for the day and he was looking forward to a quiet night on the sofa without any more troubles. He had been run off his feet all day at the gym, everything that could go wrong did. Orders were messed up, machines broke down and they were understaffed. Plus he had the every dark cloud hanging over his head. Today was the anniversary of a day that would never leave him alone, not even in his dreams. One person in his family was affected by this more than others but it affected them all. But there was one positive outcome of it all and he was pretty sure that no one in his family would change that for the world. _

_Parking the car he walked up to the house and groaned almost immediately as he neared the door. A window stood open and he could hear angry voices and shouts coming from inside the house. Opening the door he almost ran back out again, the living room floor was covered with pillows from the sofa and in the midst of it all stood his three children, one as red in the face as the other. The two boys were looking at the girl in annoyance, clearly not getting their point through, while the girl looked at her brothers with tears brimming in her eyes but there was a fire burning that was not to be taken lightly. _

_"I don't care how you think I'm _supposed_ to feel or act." Her voice was low and a deadly undertone that warned them all that she would seriously hurt the person that would try to correct her. "I am well aware of what today is. Do you really think that I would ever be able to forget? Forget how he pinned me down, held my hands with one of his while straddling my waist and using the other hand to unbutton my pants. I hate that man with every ounce of my being but because of him and because of all that I have the greatest gift of all time. So don't you dare tell me how I should feel because I can't delve on it, I can't let it consume my life cause then he would have won and I can't let that happen. I have a daughter and I have a life and he's not going to have any part of either of that." _

_He could see how the boys flinched as she described what he did to her and he could see their jaws clench. It wasn't easy for two overprotecting brothers of the age of seventeen and twenty to hear that a man or more like a boy had hurt their younger sister. He understood exactly how they felt it wasn't easy to grasp that someone could do that to your daughter. _

_"Charles..." _

_"No! I get it. But if I think about it too much I will break and I have just started to move on with my life. I can't go back there." Her voice was heavy with tears and a few traitor tears slipped out of the corner of her eye, she tried to wipe them of discretely but it did not go unnoticed by the boys. Pete was at her side in a flash, taking her in his arms and he could see how Charlie melted into her brother's embrace. No matter how hard they fought and no matter what it was about they could never stay angry with each other for too long. _

_'~'~'~'~'~'_

It didn't matter how much if an underdog she was she always stood up for herself, she never let anyone put her down no matter what. She fought for what she believed in and her cause and didn't let anybody else tell her differently.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"She doesn't belong in here!" Pete spoke quietly from his chair on one side of the bed while shaking his head as if he couldn't believe it was true. He looked down on his baby sister's face but quickly brought his focus to her small hand he had covered with his much larger one and he couldn't other than agree. That pale almost grey like, replica of Charlie was not his usual happy, tanned from being out in the sun at all hours of the day, sister.

"No she certainly doesn't."

"I mean come on! She's supposed to be sitting at her desk in the station yelling orders and bossing around, complaining about the lack of standard in our reports, or marching into our houses uninvited at any hour of the day, occupying the couch and annoying us to death." His voice showed how frustrated he was but he couldn't keep the small, sad smile of his face as he talked about all the annoying but also so loveable traits and habits of their little sister. "Or how whenever we have a problem or a hard case to crack she always demanded coffee, making us all hyper and then we slept for 15 hours straight. Yet she still demanded that coffee was the solution to everything."

"God, Charlie and her coffee!" He chuckled at the thought. Get between that girl and her coffee and you were a dead man walking, she could hold a grudge forever and strike when you least expected it. "I remember this one morning and I walked into the diner and took a seat opposite her cause the line was too long and she had already gotten her coffee, so I thought I would just take a sip. Before I had barely picked up the mug from the table she pinned me down with her eyes and spoke in a deadly calm voice: Jack_, I love you, truly I do. But if you do not put that coffee down I will inflict serious pain._" He shivered at the memory before letting out a throaty laugh. "I have never gone near her coffee since!"

They laughed together as they studied the Charlie-look alike in silence for several minutes, enjoying the sort of happy mood they had going reminiscing their little sister. But the laughter soon died out and the tears he had been holding in while trying to be strong for Ruby streamed down his face. This whole thing was surreal. It didn't feel like it was happening at all. Never in a million years would he have imagined sitting here, watching as his sister he had spent his entire life protecting in some way teetering between life and death. Her stupid urge had once again but her in harm's way but this time it had almost killed her, or technically it had killed her but they managed to bring her back.

She had run into that building and there was nothing he could do to help her from the outside. When he had seen the hostages he had been so relived, if there actually was someone who could get the job done in a situation like this it was Charlie. But as soon as the doors closed again and she had yet to come out with the cuffed bad guys he could feel his heart stop and drop to his stomach. He had been forced to grab a hold of the car that stood parked next to him so he would not fall to the ground. His baby sister was still inside that bank with three armed hostages and all she had for back-up was her own gun and her west, since they could barely see into the bank themselves. He knew that there were only two possibilities to why she would still be inside. Either the men were holding her as hostage instead till they got what they wanted or there was someone still inside that bank and she refused to leave without them. But then he had gotten the call from Brax and once everything sunk in he knew that the possibility of her walking out of there alive was almost down to none. Cause even though he wanted to run in there with guns drawn they could not do that without risking the captors to strike first.

But then shots rang out and he only prayed that it was his sister that had been quick with her gun. He counted the seconds that felt like minutes, until the doors opened again and as soon as he saw that it was not her he took off for the door and then everything was a blur, he screamed out orders and went on autopilot.

Now she was lying here and they were not sure whether she was going to live or die and there was not a thing he could do about it. He could not even begin to imagine a life without her in it; all his memories contained Charlie somehow. The happy but annoying child that used to follow him around all the time while asking all kinds of questions just to fill the silent void. Or the broken girl she became after they lost their mom then to only a few years transform into the strongest woman he had ever come across. Her teasing and how she could turn any situation comical, so between the two of them the mood was lightened considerable. Now he might lose his fellow clown.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

He wanted to run. Rise from his chair and move out of the room as fast as he could, sprint down the corridor and out to his car on the parking lot. But he was frozen, could not move an inch or take his eyes of her as she laid there on the bed. He felt sick looking at the bandage on her shoulder that was visible by the covers that covered the one on her stomach but he knew it was there. Kyle had come in with him and was sitting quietly on a chair in the corner, trying not to be in the way and intrude but trying to not make a big deal of it which he really appreciated. Kyle was easy that way, he loved Casey he truly did but he always wanted to talk about things while Kyle was easier and waited you out, didn't bother you as much. And that was exactly what he needed right now.

"She's gonna milk you for all she's worth once she gets out of here." He chuckled darkly.

"You don't know the half of it mate." He said as a smile spread across his face as he thought about. He could already see her demanding him around, it was such an easy site to imagine. "She'll have me in the kitchen faster than fast."

"Haha remember the time you tried to teach her to cook?"

"That is a sight I will never forget!" His phone was filled with the two of them with food all over their faces and stupid grins.

_'~'~'~'~'~'_

_He held his hands over her eyes while leading her through the empty building and up the stairs while she laughed and held on to his arms to keep her from falling over and he laughed at her silly comments and digs. _

_"Brax seriously, where are you taking me?" _

_"What part of "a surprise" don't you get? You'll know once we are there. Speaking of we're here." _

_He removed his hands from her eyes and wound them around her waist instead. He had leaded her into the kitchen in Angelo's where everything was set up for a long day. _

_"Wh... What is all this?" She motioned with her hands towards all the stuff that occupied the benches all around the room. "Why are we in here when it's empty despite the fact that it should be bussing with people?"_

_"Because..." He began while placing kisses along her neck, making her relax against his chest even more. "I am going to teach you how to cook." He could almost picture the displeased face she got by his words and then he could hear her groan before moving out of arms and walked over to the workbench. _

"_Suit yourself, but I am going to burn down your kitchen." He let out a warm laughter and joined her at the workbench. _

_They spent the next couple of hours with him trying to get her to cook something eatable or at least something half descent. It took its time since they had to redo things and they were kissing and touching every chance they got, a hand trailing lightly up a back, a kiss on a sweet spot or a hand brushing dangerously high on a thigh. They even went as far as using the food as a way to get a reaction from the other. It was a happy carefree day which they really needed after what they had been through the past couple of months. _

_It was once the food was done and he was going to try that the real fun begun. He picked up a fork with food and brought it to his mouth but he spit it out in the sink almost immediately and made a face making Charlie frown, wondering what went wrong. _

"_Was it really that bad?!" She exclaimed and he burst out laughing at the pout on her face._

"_No babe it was really good! I just wanted to see your face." The pout turned into a mask that showed no emotions but he barley paid any attention to her so he missed it. He was brought out of his amusement when something warm and sticky hit him in the face. Bringing up his hand to his cheek to wipe it off he realised she had thrown her fork of food at him. _

"_You did not just do that." He said in mock anger but with real shock. _

"_I believe I did, it'll teach you not to mess with my food." He turned his head to the side and pretended to pounder on it for a minute before discretely picking up a sliced tomato and threw it on her making her gasp and jump back. And then it was all on. Food was flying while they ran around the kitchen trying to avoid and hit the other. Their laughs could be heard outside by bypasses who all smiled at the fun they must be having._

_They ended up spent on the floor in the kitchen, snuggled up to each other and he thanked god he had remembered to lock behind them so they wouldn't have anyone walking in on them by accident. They laid there until their phones started buzzing and they reluctantly got up to see who was disturbing their piece. They laughed getting dressed again as their clothes were filled with different meals of some kind. _

'_~'~'~'~'~'_

Somehow she had managed to talk him into taking some photographs with her, he didn't know what made him give in but she had this incredible hold over him that he would probably to about anything if she asked, on his own terms of course. He wasn't big on this whole couple-photos thing but right now he was very grateful that he had given in, it gave him something else but his brain to remember with once his imagination became blurry.

He sat there quietly with Kyle for a while longer before they both got up and walked out of the room to the others who were waiting out in the hallway. They had kind of built a camp with the chairs that stood out in the hallway during the last three days, there were coffee mugs, worn magazines which papers had been turned over and over and there were blankets on the chairs that they would use at night.

For three days they had been going in shifts, some were at the hospital while some went home to rest up and take a shower but most of them returned as soon as they could. They were all running on minimal sleep and they were all starting to resemble zombies. Especially Jack and Pete who was running on hardly any sleep at all. For the past three days they had been running between the hospital and the station trying to gather as much information about the investigation as possible. But they didn't come back with a lot of new news. They were still searching for Hammar and the other two men that had been inside that bank who had gone underground. Bringing in the other members of their crew did not help them at all, they were all silent as the grave and he could see the effect it had on the both of them. They were frustrated beyond belief. He knew that they wanted to catch the guys, do anything they could to help because they had felt so helpless when Charlie had run into that building and then when the shots were fired.

The mood around them was nothing but sombre and he had a feeling that one wrong word could make anyone snap at this point. Everyone had managed to keep the hope up to this point but it was steadily fading the longer it took and nothing happened that could help the doctors give them any good news. You could tell that they had also started to give up hope when there was no change in her vitals what so ever.

They took their seats along the wall again and Ruby immediately crawled up to his side and buried herself under his arm. She had been quiet distant the last couple of days since the shock of it all calmed down and she let her anger take over, she had yelled and given him a piece of his mind and he sunk away in embarrassment and hurt. It hurt him to hear how her voice seemed to be filled with hate and anger that was directed towards him. But it seemed as if she had gotten over that anger but even if she wasn't he was going to take advantage of the time with her he did get. Pushing it a bit he pulled her closer to him and pressed a kiss to her temple and that's when he heard her.  
>"I still think you would make a good father."<p>

She whispered it for his ears only so soft and quietly. It wasn't much but it was all he needed to hear. That little something gave him something to hang onto, that he hadn't totally messed everything up and there it might still be a chance that Charlie will forgive him.

A whole week passed in the same manor and routine, they ate, breath and slept at the hospital and every once in a while they would go home to get some proper sleep and a well needed shower. But people also had to go back to life and live somewhat normally, they had to go and check their jobs, their family. Even though they wanted to drop everything they couldn't they had to get by somehow and it was a pretty good distraction from the stuffy mood at the hospital.

Ten days and they were all called into the hospital by Sid. Everyone was in their cars before they even ended the call. They all thought that this was it, that this was when they were going to see her, actually see her again. But they were all wrong. They almost ran into each other at the entrance, everyone wearing an excited face and they all walked fast down the halls they had all become familiar with over time. Coming to a stop outside Charlie's room were Sid stood, blocking the door while they all tried to look in through the small window to see if they could catch a glimpse of the woman they all loved, awake. He asked them all to take a seat but some of them refused, sensing that something was not right. The look on his face was not one who had good news to tell them. He started talking about her condition and how nothing has changed and then he dropped the bomb.

"The chance of her waking up is almost down to none, it's highly unlikely. At this stage we have to get you to consider turning of her life-support."

**Sorry it took so long, didn't plan for it to take as much time as it did but I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I have rewritten this piece for about what feels like a thousand times. But it somehow ended up finished anyhow! Hope the length of it will make up for it. As it looks now there are only two chapters left and maybe an epilogue, we'll see but there's at least two more coming. Xx Lexie**


	19. Chapter 18 - One final piece

Chapter 18

~ One final piece

As soon as the words were out of his mouth chaos erupted among them. Ruby broke down, sunk to the floor in a heap of tears and Bianca was fast on her feet and gathered her up in her arms with tears streaming down her face as well. Jack was frozen just looking ahead down the hall, his shoulders shaking as silent tears were dripping down his face. Martha stood next to him with her own tears streaming down her face as she tried to get some response from him when she tried to talk to him or lead him to a chair. Tony and Beth sunk down on two chairs along the wall, holding each other to give them some sort of comfort. Pete was pacing, shaking his head while trying to get his head around it like he couldn't believe it. Kyle had joined Bianca on the floor trying to calm Ruby down.

He himself was boiling with anger, he did not want to think about the fact that the woman he loved was on the verge of death just a few feet away. All he could focus on was the anger, giving him an escape from the pain he felt, the anger towards Hammar and towards Heath. If it weren't for Heath and his stupid, idiotic temper Hammar and Jake would never have gone after Charlie. That thought repeated inside his head over and over again until he snapped. Without another word he turned away from the others and started to walk down the hall with determined steps, someone was going to pay for the pain and stress that was haunting his family. But half way down the hallway someone grabbed his arm and halted him to a stop. Prepared to snap at the person and give him a burnt of his anger he turned around to face the person who had stopped. Seeing who it was his anger only built and he was definitely going to snap at any moment.

"What the HELL are _you _doing here?!" If his eyes were burning before then it was nothing compared to what they were looking like now, looking at Heath who was standing there with his hand on his arm holding him firmly into place.  
>"Stopping you from doing something stupid, like going after Pirovic!"<p>

"You would know everything about that wouldn't you? Do I have to remind you that you're the reason she's in here?! So you don't get to tell me what to do!"

Their shouting had caught the attentions of the others and Kyle and Pete were by their side in a second. Kyle pushing on Heath's chest to put some distance between the two of them and Pete grabbed Brax's arm to keep him grounded while looking between them.  
>"What is going on? Heath why are you here?"<br>"I came to tell you I know where Hammar and his boys are hiding, but with him here I don't know if that's such a good idea. I've already told the coppers at the station, they are bringing them in now but I thought you guys might like to know."

"How kind of you!" He said sarcastically with his glare never leaving from Heath. If looks could kill he would be ten feet under. "Now you've shared so you can leave."

He turned back around, leaving Pete and Kyle to deal with Heath. It was like all anger had disappeared from him when he heard that they had caught Hammar, it gave him one less thing to have to deal with. Sure he wanted to smack his head in but that had to wait. He walked past the others not stopping when Ruby whimpered his name. It was like he didn't really hear her or registered her voice. He went inside her room and once the door closed behind him he leaned against and let out a shaky breath that he had been holding in since Sid told them his news.

He quickly looked towards the bed at the end of the room where to his relief Charlie lay just like she had a few hours earlier when had been in here to visit. Her machines were still beeping and functioning, her chest was still rising in sync with the beeps from the machine. She was still alive. And she was going to stay that way. Without over thinking it too much he acted, not really knowing what he was doing. He pushed one of the cart cabinets to block the door, making it impossible for it to open. The window was still clear and he could soon see the others pushing each other to be able to see through the window, they must have heard the noise through the door. Not really registering that either he pulled up a chair next to the bed where he sat down and grabbed her and brought it up to his lips. When he felt the cool skin on his lips that's when he closed his eyes and let the tears go.  
>"I can't let them take you away from me. I can't lose you, I just can't. Baby you got to come back to me and let me hear your voice, to hear your forgiveness." Settling himself more comfortable on his chair, elbows leaning on his knees her and her hand enveloped in both of his. "So I'm going to stay here until you do."<p>

So that's what he did, he sat there and waited. Sometimes he would speak to her and sometimes he would just look at her while thinking back to their many adventures together. He could faintly hear the others calling to him and banging on the other side of the door. He could especially he hear Ruby's pleading voice, begging him to open the door and to not do anything stupid. But he couldn't open that door. If he did they would most likely take her away from him. He knew that Ruby and the others would think of Charlie first, she wouldn't want to be like this. But he was a selfish man and a selfish man always had his own agenda.

It was starting to get dark outside again when his tears finally run out, looking down at his watch he realised that he had been in there for hours. The banging and yelling had stopped on the other side of the door but he knew that they were still there, they wouldn't leave. Not now. He sat there for at least another hour before someone knocked on the door again. This time it was Jack.  
>"Brax, mate?" His voice was hoarse and you could tell that he had been crying hard and a lot the last couple of hours. "I get that you're hurting but this isn't helping anyone. Ruby needs to see her mom and frankly I need to see my baby sister as well. You aren't the only on in pain, in the risk of losing her, we all are. I get that you're scared, hell even I am and I'm a cop. But this isn't something we can control. So please mate, I'm begging you, open the door."<p>

He closed his eyes and tried to block out his friends voice but it reached him anyway, he didn't answer him but his words got to him. He felt guilty when he mentioned him wanting to see his little sister but even more so when he brought up Ruby. It was a low blow but a necessary one, Ruby was a weakness of his and using her as guilt trip was the most effective way.

It didn't take long until another knock sounded and another voice came through the door, this time it was Kyle. This could actually be interesting.  
>"Mate?" He didn't bother answering, they knew he was still in there he couldn't have gone anywhere if he didn't want to jump down the window that was three floors up.<br>"You could at least answer me so that I know you're still alive in there." He said cheekily and he couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

"I'm here mate." His voice was gruff, a proof of him crying and not using his voice for a while.  
>"You okay?"<br>"What do you think?" He got up from his chair and walked over to the door and slipped down the floor and leaned against it to come closer to Kyle, maybe a two way conversation was good for him to keep sane.  
>"Brax you need to open the door. If the doctors can't get to her and give her medication she will most definitely not make it."<p>

He looked over at the bed again, she was still lying there all pale and lifeless but he still didn't find it in him to give them some sort of response that he agreed with them. He realised now that locking himself in here might not have been the smartest of ideas. Not only has he probably pissed them all of out there especially Pete and maybe Tony but what good would it really do to Charlie?

"Dad?" The voice was small and insecure but at the same desperate and determined. It was not so much the word or that it was coming from Ruby but, it was directed to him. Someone was calling _him_ dad. That was something he never though would happen, that was something he had never even dreamed of before. "Brax?" She tried again when he didn't answer her the first time.

"What did you call me?" He asked in disbelief, he somehow couldn't quite grasp it. He needed to hear it again to confirm that it was real. Tears were gathering up and he had a lump in his throat the size of a basketball, making it very difficult for him to speak.  
>"Dad." Her voice was much smaller and even more insecure than the first time, probably frightened she was going to be shut down.<br>"I'm right here Rubes."

He smiled and he was just getting up from the floor to push the cabinet away from the door so that he could embrace her when the machines in the room started to come off. There were so many different sounds and flashing pop- up windows on the displays he almost freaked out. Without another thought the cabinet was shoved away and Sid came running into the room along with the rest of his family. Ruby was in his arms in no time, clinging to him like he was her last string to earth and he had a feeling he was doing the same thing to her.

His heart was in his throat. He felt sick watching the doctor and nurses running back and forth between the medical supplies to the iv's and machines, to hear them bark out demands in code that he had no idea what they meant. He had no idea what they were doing to her. Eventually they were being pushed out of the room and there was once again a shoving match by the window in the door, everyone wanted a look of what was going on inside.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

She was holding on to Darcy tightly as the little girl hid her face in her chest to keep herself from seeing the horrible sight in front of her. That's when she saw Hammar's smirk growing even more and that's when she knew something was going down. She could see the metal in her preview and before she knew what she was doing she pushed Darcy behind her and towards the door while she blocked their sight of her. She heard the door close and she could see the change on Hammar's face. Then everything went black.

She had been walking around in this darkness for what felt like forever, she saw some kind of light far ahead but no matter for how long she walked she came no closer to the light. There were moments of clarity when she thought herself hearing voices but she couldn't make out what they said and then a moment later they were gone so she never knew if she had really heard them or if she was going crazy.  
>She felt like she was being touched but when she looked down at the area she felt warmth there was nothing there.<p>

Trying to keep track of time was nearly impossible for all she knew she could have been walking in the darkness for months or just hours. But then out of the blue the light was creeping closer and closer, eager to reach it she started running towards it. The light was blinding her but she kept going and before she knew it there were people everywhere asking her questions and talking to each other but she couldn't connect their faces to names, her body and brain was screaming out in exhaustion.

She felt a sting here, a pinch there and she were wheeled from room to room while people were doing god knows what to her. There was definitely going to be bruises later. The haze had lightened up during the time and she recognised both Sid and several of the nurses and the time estimation was back, but it didn't make it go any less slow. Well back in her room she was swarmed with her family that came busting through the doors as soon as Sid and the nurses left the room.

Her brothers came in with first with tears in their eyes and when their eyes met hers they almost jumped into bed with her while chocking her with hugs. Despite the pain she held onto them, basking up their warmth and the safety of them while they whispered unnecessary apologies. When the air run out she managed to convince them to let her go but she barely managed to catch her breath until her visual was blurry by that curly silk hair of the girl she loved to death. Then it didn't matter that it hurt or that she couldn't breathe, she held on for what she was worth and they both sobbed into the others neck. Pulling away she settled Ruby next to her on her uninjured side and then the rest of her family came one on one giving her a hug, a kiss and some kind words.

But one person was missing and he left a big void. She knew that they left things awkward but Brax had never been one to not do as he pleased anyway so she had hoped that he would at least be, considering both Casey and Kyle was here. Kyle must have noticed her wandering eye and disappointed face that she tried very hard to hide. He gave her a pointed look and mouthed outside and looked towards the door and then back to her. A small smile spread on her face, he had come after all.

Her family eventually got up and leaved with promises of coming back tomorrow to see her, Ruby was unwilling to go at first but Beth managed to convince her to go home and get some sleep now that they knew she was alright. She also said it had been a long day which she couldn't understand what it meant but was too tired to think about it. As soon as the doors closed and she had settled back against the pillows she was dead to the world.

She woke up the next morning with a startled gasp and drenched in sweat. The whole scene had repeated itself in her head the entire night, haunting her. Hammars smirk had come closer and closer until she could almost feel his breath on her face so she had closed her eyes. But when she had opened them again it was not his face she saw. It was Grant's. The dream got more twisted and emotional exhausting by the minute and she tried to fight her way out of it but it seemed almost impossible, until she did. She almost sat up but the pain in her chest stopped her from doing just that and she cried out in pain which alerted the person in the room who was quick on its feet and by her side in a second.

"Hey, hey, hey baby take it easy! You are okay, you're safe." His soothing voice and his cool hand on her cheek made her sigh and relax back into the bed.  
>"You're here."<br>"Don't you want met too?"  
>"I don't know." She said honestly and she could see him winch at her words and she regretted them as soon as they were out. "I didn't mean it like that! I- I'm just really confused and hurt right now Brax."<p>

He sighed but nodded and the look on his face told her that he understood. His hand continued to stroke her cheek and he now sat perched on the side of her bed. It was a familiar action that she couldn't help but react to, she leaned further into his hand nuzzled it slightly with her nose. She could see his smile and then he leaned in and kissed her on the forehead.  
>"I'm sorry." He mumbled again her hairline. "I never lied to you, I just wanted to protect you from all of this."<p>

That's what made her snap. She pulled away, stunning him, and just looked at him in disbelief. "Protect me?! Wha- By lying to me you think you are protecting me? By deceiving and using me to keep me from getting you caught in the act?"

"You don't get it!" He exclaimed and got up from the bed and started to walk slightly in the room. "You only see your side of it Charlie, I see both. I can see that I shouldn't have hidden it from you and that I went about it the wrong way. But you have no idea of why I did it!" He walked over to the window and leant, bent over, against it like he was collecting strength.

"You've read my file, you've read my family's files, so you have some sort of picture of how I grew up and I have told you some things. But you can't even begin to imagine how it was like, I'm not saying you guys had it easy just cause you had money, I know that. I'm just saying it was a different kind of though. Dad would come home and just give you a beating because you're the first thing he sees when he walks through the door. Sometimes he would just push you up against the wall, chocking you while telling you that you were basically worth nothing, but sometimes it would be so bad you were put in hospital and you had to fake a story to the cops. I was his favourite since I was not afraid to step between him and Heath or Case and tell him what a piece of scum he really was, those were the once that was the worst."

He chuckled bitterly at the memory and continued to stare out the window, determined to avoid her eyes. Her heart broke at the anger in Brax's voice, the apparent hate for his father and she couldn't help but feel anger and hate towards the man for doing that to him. What kind of father could ever willingly want to hurt his children? To break them and make them turn against him, it could be nothing but a cruel man.

"Mom was either too drunk to notice or to be bothered to do something. The boys looked after each other because everyone knew what it was like, all of us had problems at home. Drunk parents, someone in jail, abuse, you name it and there was someone who had it. Everyone was struggling so we did what we had to do to survive and if that sometimes meant crossing a line we could not go back from it wouldn't bother us. We were all already stamped as criminals anyway because we liked to spend our days at the beach surfing instead of going to school. We could probably have taken double jobs or something to survive but nobody wanted to hire a bunch of kids with that kind of background so we made money in our own way. It's how we made it through the day. I knew it wasn't the right thing to do but it was all I knew and that's why I have pushed so hard for Casey and Kyle to stay in school, I don't want them to have the same fate as I did or Heath's for that matter. That's why I bought Angelo's, to give us some kind of future even though I might not have bought it the moral way."

A smile graced her lips as he spoke passionately about his brothers. She got a glimpse of the man she thought herself know, the kind and protective role model that she had once or twice dreamed about creating a family with.

"But building up an organisation like that with those kind of connections and workers it takes time and you can't just bow out in a day. You have to have someone willing to take over that kind of responsibility, a man who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty and who isn't lazy or hot headed that acts before he thinks. That's why I could never leave while Heath was in the mix because he would have been the obvious leader for the boys but he would have sent them all to prison and you don't do that to your family. I hid things from you because firstly I did not want you to get involved and become a target because of me, which obviously failed, and secondly I didn't want to you to know things so that you would have something to hold over the boys." He turned around and looked at her desperately, begging her to believe him and how could she not when he had practically spilled his entire childhood story, the whole story.  
>"I wanted to have both things and it didn't work out, so I'm sorry if I hurt you but I never meant to."<p>

She wanted to cry, scream and laugh all at the same time to let out some of the emotions that was pushing on her chest. Her head was pounding and she was utterly exhausted, all she wanted to do was to sleep and shut off if just for a minute to escape the anguishing pain. The dreams and memories did not help with her fatigue either. She wanted a minute to herself to collect herself and build up her infamous walls to protect herself from getting burned again, she had taken a chance this time and it all went to hell so it was a mistake she would not do again. Closing her eyes to block out the view of Brax for a second to build up the courage to shut off. Opening them again she looked at him with blank eyes, voided of any emotions.  
>"You should go."<p>

"Charlie?" He looked stunned, it was probably not the reaction he had expected when he had poured out his life story to her, to be shut down. But she didn't want to have to deal with it right now, she wanted to be selfish and have a pity party until she had enough energy to shut everything off and continue on like nothing ever happened, to just forget everything.

"I don't want to do this right now Brax. I'm tiered as hell and I… I just need some time to figure things out. So please… just go." She could see his transforming from surprise and hurt to absolutely nothing, he shut down as well. His face became stoic, his eyes impenetrable and his lips formed a thin line. He nodded reluctantly while twisting the ring on his middle finger, letting out a bitter laugh and a grim smirk while shaking his head he walked towards the door and closed it a little too hard after him. The sound made her winch knowing she had really hurt him, shutting him down when he practically poured his heart out which only happened on rare occasions.

Despite the complete exhaustion it took her hours to fall asleep after he left, her head was spinning with thoughts and images of Brax's face. She finally fell asleep but she didn't stay that way for too long. She awoke early in the morning when the nurses that came on shift did their check-up. They smiled sympathetically at her, probably at the bags under her eyes that she was pretty sure was present there, and then sent her in some breakfast that she just poked around with as she didn't have much of an appetite. Eventually she gave up and just pushed the tray aside and sunk back into the bed, trying to fall asleep again. As she felt her eyes grew heavy again the door opened and Jack walked in with Martha and Bianca.

She smiled warmly at them actually happy to have some company to keep her thoughts from Brax and her love life. She held on a little longer to Jack, happy to have her brother there to make her feel safe. It was like he sensed her emotions and held on a little tighter as well, letting her nuzzle his neck.

"How are you holding up baby girl?"  
>"I'm fine."<br>"Are we going to do that again and have you tell me the truth this time?" He chuckled and sat down next to her on the bed and put his arms around her shoulders.  
>"I'm tiered, a bit sore and my mind is spinning a hundred miles per hour but I guess that is to be expected."<p>

"Yeah." He said quietly and they both settled down and listened to the endless chatter of Bianca and Martha. They talked about everything that had happened during the past couple of weeks while she was out and she listened eagerly and piped in when she could and it was a great distraction from her crazy mind. After an hour of endless chatter they were interrupted by a knock on the door and a second later Sid walked through the door.

"Hi, I'm sorry to interrupt but I need to check on Charlie."  
>"We'll be just outside kid." Jack said and kissed her head, the girls gave her a smile and walked out alongside Jack. Sid waited until the door closed behind them before he turned to her with a smile and her breathing became a little lighter, that smile could not mean bad news. She was getting better.<p>

"Your tests has come back and they are good, it was unexpected but you have made a serious turn for the better. If you keep resting you will be back to your normal self. That means no running, maybe a few walks along the beach further a long, no coffee, no driving and you have to eat and sleep right." He looked at her sternly and she smiled sheepishly. She was not known for taking it easy and having patience to lay around doing nothing.

"That's good! So when can I get out of here."  
>"Not yet am I afraid, you have to stay here for at least a few more days. I do however have some other news and whether they are good or bad is probably up to you." She looked at him expectantly wishing he could just get on with it, the way he said it made her incredibly nervous. "When we ran your blood for infections we found something abnormal and unexpected. Charlie you're eight weeks pregnant."<p>

She immediately gasped and her hand flew up to her mouth. Pregnant?! She of all people was pregnant and just as her life was slowly falling apart, she was shot less than two weeks ago. She just looked at Sid and waited for him to laugh and tell her he was only kidding but he just looked at her with a small smile, letting her process this without telling her anything about how she should feel.  
>"How- how is that even possible?! I was shot and then in a coma for two weeks."<p>

"Well the bullets hit you in between your ribs and nicked your lung and the other bullet hit you in the shoulder. The blood loss can have but some strain on the baby and the coma was a way for your body to rest and recuperate so it shouldn't be a problem. But you should have a sonogram so we can check it out and know for sure what's going on."

She just nodded absentmindedly while trying to grasp the fact that she was pregnant, that an actual human being was growing inside of her once more. She and Brax was having a baby. Not being able to think about anything else she didn't notice Sid slip out of the room or Bianca slipping in and sitting down next to her on the bed. She almost jumps out of her skin when Bianca lightly touches her shoulder to bring her out of her trance.  
>"Charlie what's going on?"<br>"You're not going to believe it!"  
>"Try me!" She took a deep breath and turned slightly towards Bianca and she could feel the tears building up. How was she going to explain something she couldn't really understand herself? This was all just too much, like she needed this right now? Like she didn't have enough to figure out when Brax was concerned without a baby in the mix.<p>

"I'm pregnant Bianca!" She whispered as if she was afraid to say it out loud, that maybe it would not be true.

But a part of her still wanted it to be, she was having a baby with Brax. That was something she had wanted just the other day before she was shot, when Ruby came home sad after breaking up with Casey and he had comforted her and practically told her that he considered her as his own daughter. She had woken up as soon as Ruby came and heard the whole thing but she didn't want to interrupt. Instead she had let the words warm her heart until she dreamed of a family with the incredible man she loved. But did she dare dream about that now when everything was like it was? Would she be able to live with him and raise a baby if she didn't know if she could trust him? She knew he would make an excellent father, it was not that she didn't trust him with it was herself she didn't trust him with and if she could ever get over his betrayal and actually begin to trust him again.

"I'm pregnant and I don't know what to do!" She sobbed out and put her head in her hands as Bianca's arms sneaked around her waist and hugged her carefully, minding her wounds.

"You're what?!" Came Jack's booming voice from the door. He had an equally shocked face she must have had when Sid told her the news, eyes wide and mouth agape. She didn't have the energy or will to fight with him so she just nodded and rested her head against Bianca's shoulder and watched as he approached the bed slowly. "What are you going to tell Brax?"

"I don't know!" She cried out in both a plea for help and in frustration. "I really don't know, it's all just once big mess I can't seem to find my way out."

**There you have it folks! One down and just one more left. I will probably do any epilogue but if someone after that want to use the story and write a sequel that would be more then fine, would actually really want to read it and see how it turns out and see how you would twist it! **

**And Charlie did not die but she was in fact pregnant that only one, JS, figured out or was the only one who pointed it out. Quick thinking there love! Anyhow how do you think next chapter will work out? Will Charlie keep the baby? Will she tell Brax and if she do how will he react? Review and tell me what you think! **

**Xx Lexie**


	20. Chapter 19 - Little finger

Chapter 19 ~ Little finger

It had been two weeks since Sid had broken the news to her at the hospital, a week since she had been discharged and allowed to go home. And during that time she had not once seen Brax, she had actually gone out of her way to avoid him again. She never went to the diner if she knew there was even the slightest chance he might be there grabbing a coffee and the beach was of limits early morning and after lunch. Knowing his schedule had never come more in handy. She knew she was being ridicules and that she would have to face him at some point, she would have to tell him about the baby. But she just never seemed to have the courage and she never knew how she would break it to him. Just thinking about it made her freak out because she was afraid of what his reaction would be, whether it was good or bad because both options held something frightening that she could not control.

If he would be happy about it there could be several outcomes. Once could be that he would see it as a way for the both of them to get back together and she was not sure if she was ready for all of that. Another could be that he would not push her but he wanted to be a part of the baby's life which would mean that she would have to deal with having him around her, still struggling with her emotions.

These were thoughts that had kept her up almost every night the past two weeks, she barely got any sleep and when she did it was a restless one. She withdrew from everyone and wasn't her usual happy and open self. Her family just wrote it of as exhaustion from the surgery and the whole ordeal, figuring it was bound to mess with her head but the truth was she had barely thought about that at all. Jack and Bianca knew differently though, they what was going on and tried every moment they could to convince her to tell Brax or try to get her to talk to them about her feelings, trying to help her make sense of it all. While she appreciated it, it became a bit overwhelming after a while and now she did her best to avoid to be alone with the two of them to avoid any more confrontations. Brax had sent her a few text over time asking if they could talk or if he could come over but not once did she reply. Other than that she had not heard from him, he never tried to come over and push himself on her and he didn't call it was just those few text every other day asking to see her. He showed her that he was still there but that he was willing to give her time and come to him when she was ready.

Ruby had tried to ask her a few times what was going on between her and Brax. She had been over to see him a few times and every time she got back she would tell her how Brax was putting on a brave face but that she could tell that he was missing her and that he would ask about her. She would never respond to those statements and Ruby would not push her on it but she knew her daughter and she knew that Ruby knew that what she said was getting to her. Her daughter was the master of manipulation and get people to do and see things they really don't want to do. Ruby's words got her to think about Brax and wonder what he was doing right now. Was he at work or was he lying on the couch thinking just like her? And when she would catch herself doing just that she would silently curse her daughter in her head and got up to do something to distract herself.

Another week pasted and it had now been three weeks since she got the news which meant she was nearly twelve weeks pregnant and slowly she could see a small bump form on her belly. She had noticed it for the first time the other day when she got out of the shower and she had glanced at the mirror over the sink. Her eyes had darted back to the mirror as she had seen the barley there bump, sure her jeans had gotten a little snugger and her shirts had showed of a little more curves then usual but she hadn't actually thought she would start showing just yet. She thought she would have a little more time. But she had not been able to keep the smile of her face as she stroked her belly and watched herself in the mirror. That warm, fussy and happy feeling you could only get when you were pregnant was slowly starting to spread through her body.

Thinking back on that memory she found herself doing just that as she sat down on a more secluded part of the beach. Since she had noticed her bump she had taken to come here every day and just watch the ocean, letting the waves lull her to peace as she stroked her stomach. She had started to come to terms with it all and found that every day she longed just a little more for the family she had only fleetingly dreamt about. The anger she had once felt had faded to almost none existent and she found that it was much easier to see things clear when she wasn't being clouded by anger. But as the anger faded the guilt grew. How could she have ever thought that about Brax? That he would be able to trick her and use her like that? Ruby had been right when she had talked her out of walking away from him when Tegan was in town and the whole thing with Heath went down. She did know him, the real him and despite everything that was going on she could honestly say that she knew what kind of man he really was. Despite everything that had happened she would still trust him with her life without even thinking about it.

She had gotten over it but what if he could not get over the fact that she had doubted him and actually thought that low of him? If it wasn't for the fear of reaction and getting her heart broken again she would be knocking at his door, ready to tell him he was going to be a dad in a second. So instead she settled with stroking her growing stomach and dream about her little family. She was so wrapped up in her little safe haven that she did not see the tall, well-built brunette that was watching her from a distance until he walked over and made his presence known.

"You're pregnant." He stated calmly as he sat down next to her in the sand and looked out over the ocean just like she was. There was no accusation or guilt tripping in his words it was just an observation from a very clever guy.

"Yeah, congratulations! You're going to be an uncle." She turned her eyes from the ocean and looked over at Kyle and watched the young man process the news. Which didn't take as long as she thought it would be, a few seconds pasted and then he just nodded offered her a small smile and continued to watch the waves roll in to shore.

"Does he know?"  
>"No." She said and adverted her eyes to the water again, stating that he should not question her decision. "I haven't found the gut to tell him yet. I have barely gotten my head around it myself. I mean a few weeks ago I found out that the very same man had lied to me, making me feel like I didn't know him at all… So when Sid told me the news I didn't really know what to do."<p>

"And now?" He said and you could hear the apprehension in his words, like he was afraid of what she might answer.  
>"Now… Now I'm afraid that he might not forgive me for what I did. I'm scared to get hurt again."<br>"What could you have possibly done to make you believe he would want nothing to do with either you or his kid?"  
>"I didn't believe in him. I doubted him when he tried to tell me the truth, I didn't trust him and I saw what that did to him."<p>

"There's no way Brax hold that against his own kid even if he was holding it against you, which he doesn't by the way. He's not that kind of man Charlie!" His voice was almost angry, like he couldn't believe she just said that and she knew that it came out all wrong.  
>"I know that. It's just… What if I have pushed him away too far this time?"<br>"You haven't."  
>"How can you possibly know that?"<p>

"I have never seen him this happy Charlie! Never have he been a mess cause he worries that his past might affect someone and never have I walked in and seen my brother as contempt as he was the other day when he was asleep with you and Ruby on the couch. I confronted him and he didn't even look embarrassed. He just bragged and said that just because I was jealous cause he was surrounded by his two beautiful girls." She smiled at that, remembering that afternoon before the storm hit. It had truly warmed her heart. Kyle pointed at her and got a triumphed smirk on his face. "That's the exact same goofy smile that he wore when I woke him up! He loves you Charlie and he loves Ruby! So trust me when I say that there is no chance that he would ever turn you or his baby away."

"You kid are way too smart! I can't believe that you're single." She sniffed as she tried to keep the tears at bay while cursing her hormones in her head. She had become way too sensitive lately, crying at anything remotely cute or sweet. Kyle shrugged his shoulders, smirk never leaving his face and he looked far too pleased with himself.

"Yeah well if I don't watch out Brax will actually believe I'm trying to steal you away from him." She broke out in laughter and she realised she had not laughed that hard in a really long time. She cried so hard until tears flowed out her eyes and Kyle joined her.

Once they calmed down and their breathing had returned to normal she embraced him and held him tightly. "Thank you kid!"  
>"Go get them and make sure to take care of my beautiful niece!"<br>"A girl?" She question as she stood up and brushed of the sand from her flowy maxi dress.  
>"Yeah well we could use another girl in the family don't you think. I'm getting tired of the Braxton men's ugly mugs!" She let out another laugh before turning away and headed up the beach leaving him behind watching the ocean.<p>

She walked along the beach to the diner thinking she might spot him out on the water with his board but that was a no. So she headed into the diner but when she didn't find him there either she headed over to Angelo's where she ran into Bianca as she came out from the gym. She got a satisfied smirk as she noticed where she was heading and she just stuck her tongue out like the child she was, making Bianca do it in return before laughing at her and walking off. Almost running up the stairs but minding her wounds and her condition she got up to the restaurant in no time but couldn't see him anywhere and when she asked one out of his staff she was told he was home resting. Apparently he had been in a grumpy mood all day, blaming it on lack of sleep so Jack had sent him home when he had been in here. So that's where she was heading.

She felt the butterflies in her stomach having a party as she walked up the pathway to the front door that stood ajar as usual. Knocking lightly on the door frame she waited until someone made an appearance in the living room. She could hear footsteps coming from inside the house growing louder and louder, indicating that the person was coming closer. And then he walked in and she saw that handsome face of his for the first time in weeks. That's when it hit her really how much she had missed him, just being in his presence made her so much happier and calmer.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

He had been in a terrible mood all day. Or actually for the last couple of weeks, ever since Charlie had asked him to leave her hospital room. He had not seen her since and that's what's bothering him. He knew she had been discharged a week after he had been there the last time and that she was now home recovering. According to Ruby she was doing fine physically but was somewhere else in her mind, she could space out for minutes at a time. She was withdrawn and according to Ruby that was because she was missing him and not because of the ordeal. He secretly hoped it was and was overjoyed by the fact that she might be feeling just as bad as he was but to the others he said that they were being ridicules and that that's expected when you have gone through what she had.

He missed her, he missed her like crazy. The days were alright because then he had work to distract himself but at night it got worse. When he lay down on the couch and turned on the TV he longed to have her come through the door and lay down with him so that he could hold her. Or when he went to bed and it was cold and he had no warm body to hold close, he didn't have that familiar scent that calmed him and slowly lulled him to sleep. He lay up long into the night wondering and imagining what she was doing, if she was sleeping, watching a movie or if she too was thinking of them and missing him. Somewhere along the line he had come to depend on her and used to having her in his life as a part of his routine, he was so used to cooking breakfast for two and things like that that he found himself in loss of action, not really knowing what to do. Things didn't have the same meaning anymore.

Three weeks of constant gruelling and no sleep could break the best of them so when Jack demanded him to go home and get some rest earlier he didn't know if he was going to be grateful or not. First he had taken a surf thinking that would clear his mind like it normally did but it had proved to not be as effective. Then he had went to cleaning the house, which happened like once a month, and once he was done with that he found that the only thing left to do was eat and try and get some rest. So he dug out some leftovers from the fridge and bunkered up by the couch were he turned on the TV and tried to focus on the game. Eventually the fatigued caught up with him and dragged himself to his bedroom where he managed to actually fall asleep.

He woke up a few hours later feeling better than he had before and hoped into the shower to wash of the last of sleep. Letting the warm water loosen up his muscles, making him feel relaxed as the tension leaved his back. When he walked out of the shower, there were no more hot water in tank and probably wouldn't for hours and the bathroom was filled with fog making it feel like a sauna. He was just getting dressed when there was a knock at the door. Finishing buttoning his pants he threw on a shirt as he walked out from his room. He came to a halt as he saw who was standing in the doorway, he couldn't believe his eyes. She was actually here.

"Charlie?" He looked at her in astonishment. She looked absolutely beautiful standing there in her peach maxi dress that flowed freely from her chest down, her hair let down as well.

"Hi!"  
>"What are you doing here?"<br>"I thought maybe we could talk, there's something I have to tell you."  
>"Sure, come in."<p>

He motioned for her to come in and then they just stood there looking at each other awkwardly in silence. He longed to reach for her but he managed to keep himself from doing so.  
>"I'm sorry Brax! But when I heard, it just… it just went blank. I don't do well with lies and then… then it all just became too much. I'm so sorry for shutting you out, I was scared so I did what I do best, I took the easiest way out and that was to walk away and I'm just so sorry-"<p>

She was sobbing and he couldn't stand the tears in her eyes so he didn't let her finish and just gathered her in his arms without her putting up a fight, she practically fell into his embrace. Her arms found their way up his back and held onto his shoulders as he had one around her neck while burring his face in the crock of her neck and the other around her waist, holding her closely to him. His hand ran soothing circles on her back, calming her down. As her sobs quietened down they stayed in their embrace, both relishing in the feel of holding each other again. They had both missed each other terribly and it both hit them hard as they were finally together, being able to see each other after three weeks.

"So about what I had to tell you…" She whispered quietly in his ear while refusing to let go of him. He could feel how her pulse raised against his mouth and he could hear her shaky intake of breath. Whatever it was that she had to tell him obviously made her nervous and in any other situation that would have made him nervous too but all that matter to him right now was that Charlie had come to him was right now in his arms. Nothing could scare him right now. "I'm pregnant Brax."

Except for that. He froze up and drew back a little so that he could see her face, both of his hands had found her hips and he had to stop himself from gripping them too hard. He searched her eyes for any kind of evidence that she was only messing with him but when he found none the smile on his face was unstoppable. The shock that had been there a minute ago was all gone and all he felt was pure bliss.

He swooped her up in his arms and spun her around, extracting an angelic laughter from Charlie, before letting her down on the ground and captured her lips in soul shattering kiss. He poured every ounce of his love and happiness into it, even shocking him with the intensity in it. It was a kiss that she happily responded too. He felt something wet against his cheek but he couldn't tell if it was Charlie's tears or his but right now he didn't care if he cried because he was currently the happiest man alive. The woman he loved was carrying his baby. The woman he had nearly lost and that's when it his him. He pulled away from the kiss and leaned against her forehead, trying to catch his breath while one of his hands found her cheek.

"How's that even possible?! I mean… you were _shot _Charlie! How could it… Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" She smiled and put her hand on his as her other brought his other and placed it on her stomach, where he could feel the smallest if barely there bump and it all became even more real. "Everything's fine. The doctors checked and said that I was lucky I wasn't hit in the stomach cause then the chances of the baby surviving would have been even smaller."

"How long?" He whispered.  
>"Three months."<br>"God I love you!" He swooped in and kissed her, stopping her reply. They lost themselves in the moment so they were blissfully unaware of the commotion that was going on outside. But as soon as Brax was about to deepen the kiss the front door flew open and in came his brothers, Ruby and Jack.  
>"Please make it a boy!" Hollered Casey as soon as he walked through. "Cause honestly I can't take another Ruby!"<p>

The comment made everybody laugh except for Ruby who smacked him in the back of the head as payback. Despite only just having broken up they had fallen comfortably into the role as siblings or whatever you could call it, skipping that awkward stage Brax had feared for. Jack just smiled at them and he figured that he already knew, which wasn't surprising as Charlie told him almost everything. It would also explain his friend's pep talks that were far too optimistic and friendly for a brother whose sister you had just hurt.

Kyle just plonked himself down on the sofa with a satisfied grin while propping his feet on the coffee table.  
>"I've already told Charlie to give me a niece since we could use some beauty in the Braxton clan!" Making Casey jump on him and they both ended up on the floor in a pretend wrestling fight. Brax mutter morons before he turned around and faced Charlie.<p>

"He already knew?"  
>"He found me on the beach earlier, he's actually the one who talked some sense into me and made me come over here and talk to you."<br>"Remind me to give him a raise!" He grinned making Charlie laugh and hit him in the chest. "But I recon he's right, a little girl who's as beautiful as her sister and mother sounds about right."

"You don't want a boy?" She asked surprised, thinking he would want to have a son who he could teach how to surf and get up to nothing good with.  
>"I wouldn't mind a son, not at all! But I grew up in a house of boys, I need my girls." She laughed at his silly comment again and he wished he could hear her laugh all the time.<p>

"You just like the idea of getting to be protective without anyone thinking it's wired and scare of all the boys!"  
>"True! Nah, but I kind of like the idea of a little angle snuggling up to me and calling me daddy while the little bigger you" He pointed over to where Ruby was cheering on Kyle as he was currently the one with the advantage. "Is running around spending my money and giving me heart attacks by sneaking of with boys. That way I will still have my little girl who will give me no grief. We can work on that boy later."<p>

She smiled up at him before planting a soft kiss on his lips.  
>"You're on Braxton!"<p>

**There you have it people, it's a wrap! Okay not a total wrap since I still have the epilogue to do but **_**Something that we're not**_**has now come to an end! I hope you guys have all enjoyed cause I certainly have liked writing it even though I've hit dryspells at times, but it ended up alright I think! **

**Thank you all for your lovely reviews, especially **_**JS**_** and **_**lazza77 **_**who has reviewed every single chapter since the beginning, it becomes so much more fun when you get to hear what everyone thinks! **

**So thank you all again and stay tuned for the epilogue! It will probably be up in the next few days. Have some ideas for what I'm going to do next but nothing's set in stone yet so if you have any wishes or suggestions I am all ears! **

**Take care my lovelies! XXX Lexie**


	21. Epilogue

Epilogue

Looking out at her family who was goofing around in the water that achingly familiar smile spread across her face. Her brothers, her dad, Kyle and Ruby were furthest out with their boards, competing who could do the most eye catching trick while Martha stood at the edge of the water holding hers and Jack's two year old son who was laughing till he was red in the face at Brax who was goofing around with their daughter. Everyone she loved was there… Except for Casey… Looking around the beach for him she found him a bit further down, a bit away from the rest of the family, with his forehead resting against his girl's.

He and Denny had found each other all little over three years ago and had been inseparable since then. It had started with friendly words and smiles at the diner, she had been a witness to it herself since it had been during the same time she was pregnant. From then the friendly words had transformed to a little bit more flirting but the pair of them were oblivious to the fact that they were both smitten with each other. It had been a slow start until they got their heads out of their arses and did something about it. And since that day he had had that silly smile on his face, not a smirk and not a grin but a real, genuine smile and Denny wore a matching one. So seeing the two of them cuddled up together away from everyone else was not unusual or a surprise.

She had been working all day and had finally gotten home after doing some last minute things and had driven straight to the beach where she knew her family would be. Walking over to where they had all put their stuff she pulled off her clothes so she was only in her bikini and headed down to the water to join the fun. Brax currently had his back facing her and yet to notice her and she saw her opportunity to get back at him for the other day when he had come to work and embarrassed the shit out of her in front of her colleagues and brothers. As she was almost there she noticed her daughter's eyes grow a bit wider at the sight of her and she put her finger to her mouth, signing for her to not tell on her. Her daughter giggled a bit but Brax didn't think anything about it since she had been doing that the entire time.

Another few steps and she was there. She jumped up on his back and wound her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck while pushing them to the side and into the water. Coming back up the surface again she was met by a scowling Brax and a daughter bent over in hysterical laughter, looking utterly adorable in her turquoise bathing suit and pink arm-puffs.  
>"Told ya I'd get you back Braxton!" She grinned and walked over to their daughter and picked her up, hugging her real tight while placing kisses all over her face. To that their little trouble maker retaliated with putting her hands on her mother's face and squishing her cheeks together while pushing it lightly backwards before letting go.<p>

"Hi mommy!"  
>"Hi baby! Did you have a good day with daddy?" She nodded her franticly making her light brown curls, almost identical to the ones of her sister's, bounce on her head as she started to talk feverishly about her day and all the fun and mischievous things she had gotten up to with her dad on his day off.<p>

"Kylie! What did we say about telling mommy about all that?" Brax's voice boomed from behind them.  
>"To not tell her because it could get daddy into to trouble." She grinned, clearly enjoying the predicament she had just put her father in. "But mommy said that I should always tell her everything even though you say that I can't, that way she won't get any surprises." At that Charlie couldn't help but laugh and neither could Brax.<p>

Their laughter had caught the attention of the others and they were all making their way over to them. Pete and Ruby pushing each other back and forth, trying to get the other one to trip over. Jack and her dad was arguing about how they were clearly the one who had caught the better way while Kyle walked beside them with a grin, not saying a word but his eyes were only on the little girl in her arms and the little girl's eyes were now directed to nothing else but Kyle who was walking towards them.

Since the first moment in the hospital and Kyle had gotten to hold her he had created some incredible bond with her and he had become infatuated with the girl from the start like the rest of them and even more so when they told him her name and that he was her godfather. He had actually cried a few tears before sitting down in a chair with the babe in his arms and started talking to her about all the things he was going to show her and teach her when she or Brax would not let her. The sight had warmed her heart and she realised she had made the right choice. It had only seemed fitting for the pair of them that Kyle was going to be involved in the baby's life since he was the reason she was here and they got back together after their talk on the beach.

"There's my girl!"  
>"Kyle!" He smiled at the little girl who had her arms outstretched for him and he more than willingly walked over and picked her up before starting to walk away and up the beach without another word. And she let out astonished laugh but then shrugged it off since it wasn't the first time she had lost her daughter's attention as soon as her uncle Kyle walked into the room.<p>

A pair of arms sneaked around her waist and pulled her up close against a rock hard chest as she watched her daughter and her uncle up on the beach. Those familiar arms gave her some warmth in the chilly water and the kisses her man planted up and down her neck was enough to get her pulse raising and her temperature up.  
>"We make incredible babies together."<br>"That we do." She agreed. "I got something for you today."

"Yeah, what's that?" He mumbled against her skin, never once stopping the assault on her neck and she noticed that the rest of the family had also started making their way up to the sand.  
>"The papers arrived at my office this afternoon." She didn't have to say anymore, she knew he would understand exactly which papers she was talking about. It was papers the both of them had been waiting on for forever and by the way he froze behind her she knew that he was trying to compose himself.<br>"He- He signed them?" He stammered.  
>"Yeah, the judge forced his hand and apparently getting a lighter sentence meant more to him then his daughter."<p>

Before she even had a chance to register what was happening he had spun her around and planted a soaring kiss on her lips before taking off towards the beach and she almost had to run to keep up with his speed. He walked straight up to Ruby taking her into his arms and spinning her around in the air before holding onto her like he would never let go.  
>"We did it baby! He's out of our life for good." He said and let go so that he could see her face as he told her the news.<br>"You mean he signed the papers?!"  
>"Signed and filed!" He grinned and laughed as she launched herself at him again but held more than gladly onto her.<p>

The smile could not be erased from either ones face all day and not from hers either. All the way home Ruby and Brax walked and held onto each other, nothing had changed except from a few signatures on a few papers but just knowing did a lot to once mind, gave you a sort of ease. For years they had been talking about Brax adopting Ruby and for the last year they had been trying to get Grant to sign the papers but he knew that it was the last hold he had over them so he downright refused to do such a thing. But she had eventually gotten a prosecutor to do a deal with him and he had been too much of an egotistical jerk to give the deal up so he had signed the papers and she had gotten them back today. It was the final string they had to cut with him and she knew Ruby couldn't be happier about it, to not have him come around with some silly legal claim. That all of that now belonged to Brax and honestly neither could she.

As they got home she had taken Kylie to give her a bath and put her to bed so that Brax and Ruby could have some alone time. It had been a long day for everybody out in the sun and then dinner with the family, plus all the emotions. Kylie was ready to drop which made bathing time less of a fuss and she didn't end up getting all of the water over her and the bathroom floor instead of the kid. After changing Kylie into her pyjamas and tucking her in her little angel was out like a light, clutching her stuffed dolphin close to her chest.

She sat on the edge of the bed and just watch her little girl, amazed by the person she was becoming. So full of light and energy, her mind not haunted by darkness and she'd be damned if she ever was. Letting Brax in and letting him become a part of her family and then her life was the best thing she had ever done. Creating a family with him and starting a life with him was everything she had dreamed of and more. No matter what had happened in the past she knew the incredible man he was and she had been no saint either early on in their relationship. The whole trying to hide them and not wanting to go public thing. It had mostly been because she was scared and maybe a little ashamed of how it would affect her at work. But getting the courage to get over that and do it anyway was the best thing she ever did. He had showed her that over and over again.

She stroked her daughter's silky hair, the part of it that was sticking out from under the sheets and placed a kiss on her head before putting out all the lights and leaving the door slightly ajar. She could her Ruby and Brax talking in the living room and decided to give them some more time, plus she was getting pretty tired herself so she walked into hers and Brax's bathroom and took a quick shower before brushing her teeth and crawling into bed only dressed in one of Brax's old shirts. Her eyes had dropped and her mind had almost travelled to the lands of dreams when she felt the bed dip beside her and then a familiar warmth wrapped around her. She lay her head on his chest like every night and started to trace his tattoo while letting his heartbeat lulling her to sleep combined with his fingers stroking up and down her back.

"Thank you!" She heard him whisper in a quiet tone as to not disturb the peace they had in the dark and comfort of their bed.  
>"What for?"<br>"For giving me everything that you have. I.." She could tell that this was his way of thanking her of everything she wanted to thank him for but as he wasn't one for words it came out a little awkward but it still warmed her heart knowing he was that grateful that he would try. Leaning on one of her elbows so that her head was hovering a bit over his she looked him straight in the eye.

"I could say the same thing to you Braxton. Meeting you in that club was probably the best thing that has ever happened to me!" She could hear him draw in a long breath and before she knew it she had been flipped over and he was hovering above her, his lips only a whisper from hers. His breath tingled on her lips and she waited with anticipation of what he was going to do next. In the next second his lips descended to hers and he pressed a tender kiss to her lips, nibbing slightly on her bottom lip to get her to let him in. His tongue stroked hers gently and her entire body shock with tingles from the sensation. He never ceased to take her breath away, every time he touched her or kissed her she got the same tingles in her body as if it was the first time. "How about we work on that son I promised you?"

It felt right, to have another baby with him and expand their family so that she could show everyone how wrong they were, including her, and to show everyone what amazing man he was. She wanted a son with that boyish grin that never failed to make her legs give up and those piercing grey eyes that could see straight through you. A boy who would have the same heart as his father, he would not be afraid to go after what he wanted and he would have the same protectiveness for the people he considered family and help people. She wanted to show Brax how amazing he really was.

"God I love you!" He croaked out before kissing her again, pressing her further into the mattress.

"I love you too!"

**So that's that! The end of the show and the curtains close. Didn't know how cheesy to spin it so just threw something together to get it done with. Like I've said before it's been a blast writing this and hearing what you had to say and I hope that you will continue to read my stories if I post another one.**

**So I threw in some Kyle since he did not become as big of a part in the other chapters and I DEFENITELY had to throw in Casey and Denny considering the last episodes of Home and Away. I swear to god I cried like a baby. I didn't like Casey from the start but the last 1½ years he has been one of my favourites. And I mean come on! How perfect isn't Denny and Casey together, I have adored their entire relationship, so sweet and… yeah just perfect haha. Can't find the words. **

**Well this is it for this time folks, hopefully we'll see each other soon! If you have any questions or suggestions/wishes/prompts send me a PM why don't you. Always open for a bit of a chat.**

**Thank you so much, Love Lexie! xx**


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